Broken Bonds
by Violinagin
Summary: Kenshin is tracking a dying dragon that may be able to keep him from dying, but what he finds is most definitely human. Can she still help him? Can he help her?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**  
**The Injured Human**

* * *

"You said you were bringing me an injured dragon." Megumi looked up from where she had been kneeling before her patient who was laid out on a futon, and into the amber eyes of the man standing in the doorway of the small, simple room.

"I was tracking dragon energy. Injured dragon energy." His lips were tight and he kept his arms folded across his chest. "I found her. I know she is human, so where is the dragon?"

Megumi narrowed her eyes a bit then turned to the young girl as she moaned in her sleep. She placed a hand on the slick forehead, feeling the matted strands of black hair, along with the heat of a strong fever. "I am afraid all I can tell you is her bond was severed, so she, being human, should already be dead. It looks like she has as much will to live as you, Himura, probably more because you are dragon." She said pointedly, picking out some bottles of medicine from the perfectly organized medical kit at her side. Kenshin's frown deepened as he watched her work. "I honestly have no idea what is keeping her alive at this stage."

Kenshin stood in the doorway, not moving to come in or leave, just watching the face of the young girl which was contorted in pain. When he had found her, she had seem lost in her own world and not entirely able to understand what was going on around her. She had not said anything except for a few words in a language he could not understand or place, and seemed to follow him willingly enough, but without thought. He had carried her when she had finally fainted. It was faster that way.

"So, is this Missy the one? She looks pure human." A tall, spiky haired man was peering around the door frame and Kenshin, squinting into to dim light of the room.

"Sano." Kenshin greeted, ignoring the question and observation. Megumi's jaw was clenched tighter as she closed her eyes, placing her hand over the girl's heart and measuring the energy levels more exactly. "I can give her something to stabilize her." She finally said, opening her eyes and turning her attention to the medicine, "Her energy is in such disarray, I've never felt energy like this, nothing like your group's energy. It's foreign."

Sano gave a low whistle. "She may look like us, but she must be from way out of town if our Megumi can't place it. Europe?"

Had Megumi not have been so busy measuring out exact amounts of the different colored powders, she would have rolled her eyes.

"Sano, I believe Megumi has plenty of experience with European dragons" Kenshin said stiffly, "Megumi, let me know if she stabilizes, I'm going to find out what I can. Is Aoshi here yet?" He turned and walked down a long hallway and down a flight of stairs, "I have a question about what she was saying."

"I didn't see him fly in, but that doesn't mean anything. Did she say anything useful?"

"Nothing I could understand, though I believe we might be looking for a dragon named 'John' or something similar. It's who she kept asking for while she was still lucid."

Sano looked like he might choke on the laughter he was trying to keep inside. "An extremely foreign dragon named John?" He repeated, finally managing to keep from laughing, though he still snorted. "Did you at least get her name?"

"I believe her name is Kaoru."

* * *

**A/N** So here is the first chapter of my first little fanfic on here. I have the whole plot worked out in my head, but I have no clue how long it's going to end up being. Might not be too long, might be epic, heck, it might just be a bunch of drabbles that sort of form a plot. Not sure yet. Anyway let me know what you think! Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**  
**A Missing Dragon**

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The large hallway was dimly lit as Kenshin and Sano made their way towards Aoshi's part of their home. As they were opening the door, Aoshi was standing up from a crouch having just changed from his dragon form. His startling ice blue eyes and cool demeanor were the only things that hinted at his element.

"I received your message, Himura." He said simply, taking his phone out of his pocket to check for any messages that could have come during his flight.

"I am afraid we have no more than what I've sent you before. Just the two names, Kaoru and John, and some pieces of another language I can't place. She had nothing when I found her, not even ID. Unfortunately Megumi has been trying to stabilize her and hasn't been able to study her energy levels further than necessary and all she can tell me is the energy on her is completely foreign to us. A bond of hers was broken, but that should have killed her." Kenshin explained as he watched Aoshi unlocking the security on the computer that was resting on the only set of furniture in the large stone room: A desk and office chair.

"Why should she have died?" Sano said, leaning up against the wall, chewing on a thumb cuticle.

"Because she doesn't just look fully human, she is fully human." growled Kenshin. This whole situation was making him angrier than he usually was. He needed a dragon, not the quiet, distant, pale little thing he had found. He felt the scar on his cheek throb in time with his pulse and he fought to keep his emotion in check. He wondered if the slash up his face had started to bleed again. He needed to talk with Megumi again after this.

"Misao will be..." Aoshi had started, not looking up from his computer. However, his eyes darted up when the loud, high pitched tones of a young female dragon in her tiny human form echoed into the room.

"...Here!" She finished his sentence as she bounded into the room, holding onto her computer tablet and letting her loose fitting dragon clothing billow behind her. Her tight braid whipped around and almost hit both Sano and Kenshin as she passed. Kenshin hadn't moved as the young dragon practically bounded over the desk to greet her mate with a small kiss and nuzzle and then turned to face Kenshin and Sano. "I got started as soon as Aoshi told me what you knew and I have results!" She moved to the smooth wall behind the desk and found the cord she was looking for, still talking. "Her full name is Kaoru Kamiya, Japanese, good student, heir to a dojo and fighting style, went to a university in America, studied Engineering officially, but took just as many courses in the Liberal arts. I think she just started going to school for fun at that point. Several posts in other languages, I'll look at those later. Then she traveled off across the pond to Europe hitting several places including Italy, Switzerland, a jaunt over to the UK, France, Germany, India, Pakistan..."

"Misao," Sano said, a grin playing on his face, "How can you possibly know all this?"

"Easy!" She said, finally getting her tablet to turn on and pressing a button where it was connected to the cord in the wall, her screen pulled up on the large empty wall for all to see. "See! Facebook!" Kenshin looked at the profile picture that was being projected onto the wall. The bright blue eyes of Kaoru sparkled as she laughed, sitting precariously on a stone lion as though she were riding a horse, in front of a large museum. Kenshin couldn't help but smile as he could imagine the security guard chasing her off. Because she would have teased him and ran, he could tell by the impish gleam in her eye. Her photo was so different than the frail little thing he had brought back, he wondered if he had looked like her after... he shook himself and focused on the conversation so he didn't have to think back. He cheek was hurting again, and he resisted the urge to touch his scar.

Sano rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure that counts as research..."

"Yeah, it does have it's limits. She didn't log on at all over seas, I had to hack the location indicator on her phone camera, which, thankfully she used despite not calling anyone, Which involved hacking her phone which I had to find the number of through facebook and..." Here she stopped as Aoshi looked up from his computer. She always talked too much, but whenever Aoshi had something to say she instantly stilled, sometimes mid-word, to focus her attention on him.

"Her bond mate is harder to pin down. She has several friends named John on facebook, but none of them have been anywhere near her in years and none of them are one of us. There are also no dragons known to go by this name officially, and she seems to have had no relationship at all with any dragon as far as we can tell. No one has died that she knows, aside from family members who are not dragon, so there is no reason for her to be dying from a broken bond. The only thing that would sever a bond in that way is the death of her mate." Aoshi went back to his files as Misao brought up the images from her phone. Kenshin was mulling over the information he'd just been given. Nothing about this human made any sense to him. His frown deepened. What had hurt her? Who had hurt her? Sano whistled at the number of photos, breaking Kenshin's train of though, and even Kenshin had to quirk and eyebrow.

"Over 5000 photos, really?"

"Well, she had just gotten back from her world tour." Misao shrugged, "Maybe she likes to document everything?" From the small icons of photos he could see, Kenshin had to agree, that there seemed to be an obsessiveness to her photo taking, with several duplicates of each scene. There were landscapes, and cloudscapes, and buildings, and groups of flowers, some photos of crowds and people, these people looked Indian to him, and food and animals and everything. Except pictures of her and other people. He recognized several famous places as Misao scrolled as quickly as she could through the mass of photos.

"Check her friends for connections with our world and find her most active ones. Perhaps one of them can tell us something. See if there are any photos that can give us any clues. We won't have more than this information and whatever else you can dig up to go through until she wakes up." Kenshin turned and left, followed by Sano. Kenshin stopped at the doorway, and turned to face the taller one following him. "Sano, stay and see what you can find about her family. They might not know anything since she has no dragon blood herself, but maybe they can point us into the right direction. I'll return after I've talked with Megumi." Kenshin ignored the small pout Sano had tried to hide. He knew Sano enjoyed tormenting their healer, but Kenshin needed her to be kept free from distraction.

* * *

**A/N** - Wow, I feel so out of sorts with writing. I haven't written my own story in years. Thank you to everyone who has read, and a big super thank you for each of my two reviewers! I'll try to keep chapters coming, and try to keep my writing somewhat decent despite my lack of practice. I hope I'll get better! Let me know what you think, and Enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**  
**Where Am I**

* * *

Kenshin stood unmoving as Megumi leaned in to examine his scar. The one vertical streak crossing his face was the only reminder of what had happened to him years and years ago. He tried not to remember the details of that night, but ever since then he would wake up from dreams that left him half transformed and raging, blood on the pillow from the scar that would reopen at a moments notice. He didn't sleep much anymore.

"You're right, it does seem to be getting darker, more blood at the surface." She tilted his face away to get a better look, peering through some sort of lens that covered her right eye. "Energy is more active. Temperature stable. Pulse normal." She spoke in short clips, mostly for her own benefit. She walked over to the low table next to her patient's bed, and put up the thin notebook she had been writing in, taking out a much larger, much older, leather bound book. She opened where the last marker was stuck out of the middle, and began writing. She stopped and looked up at him.

"I will probably have to adjust your medication. Your energies are probably reacting to her energy. I can't be sure, but I will give you something to try." She moved to go back to writing, but then she looked up, not at him, not at the young girl on the futon, but just stared somewhere in front of her for a second.

"You haven't really thought your whole plan through yet, have you?" She turned and looked at him knowingly.

Kenshin quirked an eyebrow, "Oro?" His eyes widened as he said, "You said two broken bonds should be able to heal each other, that the energies would work in that way..."

"Yes Kenshin, theoretically the plan should work. But..." She trailed off, and looked down at her second patient she had been charged with keeping alive.

"But?" Kenshin's eyes had darkened a bit, and he crossed his arms, waiting for his healer to continue.

"Kenshin," She spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. "The technical part of this should most certainly work. I've never brought this up before, because we've never gotten this close. And the reason we've never gotten this close is most dragons with broken bonds want to die. Or, they go insane with grief and then they die. I have very little research on how bonds affect humans. I am certain I can stabilize her, but I do not know, when it comes down to it, if she will want to be saved. Her scar is here," She made a movement across her own chest, right over her heart.

Kenshin nodded, and looked like he was about to respond, then movement caught his eye. He tilted his head towards the girl who was blinking, slowly, looking at the ceiling. It took her a minute to focus, and then process the information of a darker, stone looking ceiling. Then, a curious wrinkle formed between her eyes as she frowned and began to let her eyes drift around her. When their blue gaze finally landed on him, and then Megumi, and then back to him, she finally spoke.

"Where am I?"

-

When Kaoru first woke up, she didn't open her eyes. She had been having a dream, and was trying to remember it. There had been a red haired man at the airport. And there had been a wedding. No, that wasn't part of her dream. That was right before. The wedding had been in the dream too, but there had been something wrong. It had been frozen. She had to wake everyone up, but they were stone. She had turned them all to stone by looking at them, she tried to close her eyes but she couldn't and everywhere she looked was just more and more stone, and fire. There had been fire. And she had seen him. She hadn't want to. But she had seen him and then it was she who had turned to stone and the fire was coming closer and it would melt her. And then...

And then she had woken up. Something was demanding her attention. She had to focus on that something but she couldn't quite make her mind work. So she focused on what she could remember last. She obviously wasn't on the plane any more as she remembered the walk off the plane, through customs not having slept for two or three days and feeling just as bad. And she had walked through the airport. Here Kaoru frowned a bit, not remembering having her pack with her. And then... and then the red haired man had shown up. She remembered him asking if she was okay, if she needed to sit down. He had seemed disappointed to see her, but that didn't quite make sense. And then she couldn't remember anything except for a funny pain right over heart heart. Had she fainted? That would have been a first. But that left her with one frightening thought.

She had no idea where she was.

And then her mind grasped the important information she hadn't been able to process before.

She could hear people talking.

Doctor. Hospital. Her mind told her, and then just as quickly told her no. There were no beeps, no whirs. It was too warm here for that. The bed was too soft and those people were talking in hushed voices, not the normal, too loud voices of doctors or nurses who didn't care if their patient was sleeping or not. And it smelled clean, but cool. None of the harsh chemicals of a hospital. And before she could figure out what they had been saying, they stopped. Her head was starting to hurt. Caffeine.

She opened her eyes, expecting to see a bright, overhead light, but it took her a minute to focus on the dark ceiling in the dim light.

'Not a hotel either. Empty. Stone.' she frowned a bit. 'Oh my God, I've been kidnapped. Or something. Did I at least make it back to America? Am I still there?' she could feel her heart start to pound and tried to control herself by looking around the room she found herself in and taking things as slowly and methodically as she could. 'Door, open, that's a good sign.' Then she looked at the people in the room. 'Calm, non threatening, comfortable here. Red hair, same guy. Different clothes. Not wearing a suit this time. Blue tunic, dark grey pants, informal. Woman, Japanese doctor clothes. From a long time ago.' Her mind picked over their body language and details in snippets, looking for any attempt to jump her now that she was awake. Twitching her hands and feet, she realized she wasn't held down in anyway and she looked back at the man she could almost remember.

"Where am I?"

"I promise you are safe. Do you remember the airport?" Kenshin started softly. "You were quite sick."

"I remember meeting you, but not anything that happened after. Where am I?" Kaoru asked again, looking at the doctor sitting on her knees next to her and heating a kettle over a Bunsen burner on a low table, while writing something in a large ledger. Kaoru realized she was laying on a futon, She hadn't slept on one in many years. She hadn't sat up yet, and realized everything was quite comfortable. She was wearing some cotton pajamas from what she could see. She idly wondered where her clothes were.

"My name is Kenshin, you are in my home in Montana. I had to bring you here because you were dying. Doctor Tanaki is a specialist and was the only one I knew could help you."

"Dying?" Kaoru said in complete confusion. "Did I get food poisoning or something? No... I could have gone to a hospital for that." She turned to the doctor for an answer.

"I am sorry about your mate, John." She said, "It must be very painful."

Kenshin was watching her, and Megumi was only glancing at her as she continued writing and measuring.

Kaoru sat up slowly. 'Oh, I did get kidnapped, and by insane people, even if the red head is hot, he is insane. They think I know someone named John, and I haven't known a John in years. I could run, but RedHot's right there, couldn't get far. Just keep breathing, don't let them smell fear. Keep them talking and get information and then they'll leave you alone and then you can run. Very far away.'

"Mate." She said slowly, just repeating the word. Then, "Mate? What are you talking about? Like a husband?" Koaru didn't have to feign confusion. Megumi stopped what she was doing to look at her, and then she glanced at Kenshin who had walked in a bit closer.

"Did he not tell you what he was?" Kenshin hadn't stopped looking at Kaoru, and she shifted nervously.

"Who is John?" She asked. She did not like feeling nervous, and she could feel her control on her emotions draining. If they kept talking like this she was going to find some sort of weapon and smack both of them in the head until they started talking sense. She knew she hadn't been that sick. She didn't feel like she had just been dying.

She saw Kenshin's confusion.

"I am sorry, at the airport, you were asking for a John. You were speaking another language and asking for John. We have been trying to locate him for you."

"Mera Jaan." She said, the light bulb finally coming on. "I wasn't asking for a John, I was asking for My Jaan. That's what we called each other. I wonder why I was asking for him. That is odd."

"Who was he?"

"My ex-boyfriend, friend, my Lion man, I guess you could say he was my 'complicated' on facebook, though we couldn't exactly announce our... thing. His relatives are strict." She smiled a bit, and Kenshin watched her eyes sparkle with mischief, while noting she never said his name. "I think that was part of the fun."

"So when did he die?" Megumi ask and Kaoru gasped in shock. It took her a minute to process the information and she couldn't quite believe it she felt the amusement drain off her face, her mouth open in horror.

"Is he really dead?" She asked when she got control of herself again, "But he just got married! What did he die of? Did I catch it? I haven't seen him in months! Well, except for the wedding... but I promise I didn't go near him!" She looked upset, biting her lip and twisting her hands through the blanket that had bunched down in her lap when she had sat up. She glanced toward the doctor who was just gaping at her now, and then up into the eyes of Kenshin, who was much closer, having kneeled next to the futon. 'He's quick' she mentally noted in a detached way.

"He didn't.. explain anything to you?" Kenshin asked curiously, Kaoru studied his eyes a curious shade of light brown. Almost yellow gold, really. It took her a minute to register his question, and she nodded, working at keeping her tears back.

"I knew from the beginning that we could never be an actual couple." Kenshin nodded as if he understood. "He explained about his religion and his family. But he was so fun! I was always sort of uptight, good student, and I had way too much focus. I'd do what I need to, but when I met him, it was like I was a kid again. He was so young, even though we were the same age. And when I finally asked him out, despite what he told me at the beginning, he looked so sad, and that's when he explained we couldn't ever be together in that way. His culture was just too different, his family didn't approve of me. We were never more than friends, though he was my best friend. Is he really dead?" She asked again, swallowing resolutely, waiting for an answer.

-

Kenshin threw a quick glance to Megumi who raised her eyebrows and shook her head slightly to indicate she wasn't entirely sure what was going on either. He turned back to Kaoru, and Megumi picked up the kettle to mix up some medicine for her, glancing at the patient with a frown. This was different magic than she had been expecting, and the story was not making any sense to her from a bond standpoint. Kenshin just looked into those blue eyes, with tears threatening the corners but being held in place by that look of determination, Kenshin realized that she was very much in control of her emotions. It reminded him slightly of himself. Obviously this dragon she had encountered had bound her without her knowing, because nothing in what she said indicated she knew about Dragons or other kind, despite the energy radiating off her. She hadn't known how close to death she had been, and now he was unsure as to what to tell her. Finally he began he tried to put as much sincerity and comfort in the words as possible, he couldn't have her leaving and he couldn't force her to stay here if she were to help him. If it hadn't been for that, he would have just ordered her to stay.

"We had been going off what you told me while at the airport, we have no immediate information on his death." So this was a slight lie, she had been babbling and obviously didn't remember any of it. "We were under the impression that he had died, and you were about to be next. You were terribly sick, and Dr. Tanaki was able to stabilize you, quite quickly despite your being out for most of the trip here."

"What's wrong with me?" She asked, interrupting.

"Your heart." Megumi answered, holding out a cup. "I was able to moderate your rhythm and the palpitations have mostly stopped, but it will get worse without medicine and I've got to keep checking your vitals. There aren't many people in the world to have caught this. This set of symptoms are not much studied because everything sets in so quickly and there are very few survivors. You're lucky I've been working with Mr. Himura, Kenshin," She explained quickly, nodding at the red head at Kaoru's look, "On this, and that he found you and recognized what was happening. He's one of the few survivors."

He gave her a look that indicated he wasn't happy to have that bit of information shared. He was still touchy about it, but he was glad she was quick enough to steer the explanation away from Dragon Magic and what to her would sound crazy.

"Why do you think it has something to do my...my friend." She held her head at a definite answer, stubbornly challenging them.

Kenshin could have hugged Megumi for her quick thinking and fast replies to everything. By the end of it, Kenshin himself was almost convinced that the illness had something to with transmission of a pathogen through prolonged contact with one person. And Kaoru was slowly letting down her defenses. At least, he took it as a sign she was when she finally took the cup of medicine Megumi kept trying to give her.

"You will sleep a lot at first." Megumi said as Kaoru drank it slowly. "But you have done so well, I think you will be up quickly. We'll talk about this more after you get a bit of rest okay?" The dark haired girl nodded, and Kenshin could see her blinking slowly. "I will be staying with you at all times, so if you need something, I will be here. I'm afraid the medicine might give you weird dreams." Kaoru shifted so she was laying down, and she nodded once again, but she turned her eyes toward Kenshin, and kept them on him as she slowly fell asleep. As her eyes finally closed and her breathing deepened, he finally stood from where he had been kneeling next to the futon, and pulled her blanket back over her. It would be colder when he left. He looked down at her as she slept. She still hadn't told him the name of her mate, whether she knew that her friend was her mate or not, and he didn't blame her. It had been years before he could even bring himself to say his own mate's name to himself after she had died, not to mention saying it to anyone else.

"I am going to let the other know what we have learned, if you come up with anything else, send a message, stay with her if you can. We'll have to tell her what we are eventually."

Megumi nodded as Kenshin left, quickly and silently.

Their new little human was a big mystery.

* * *

**A/N** - I must admit I'm debating on who I want Kaoru's "mate" to be. I have someone in mind, but I'm not sure if it works really well within the Rurouni Kenshin cannon. I don't want to do an OC if I can help it. Next chapter the Kenshin-gumi figure some stuff out, Misao makes a mess of things, and Kaoru meets more people as she gets better. Kenshin works on gaining her trust and figuring out his enigma. Thanks for reading through this far, and I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**  
**More at Home**

* * *

"Jaan" Misoa had said, "Term of endearment. Something akin to heart or soul or life. Depending on where it comes from..."

"What do you mean?" Kenshin had asked as she flipped open an atlas to look at a map.

"Well, I've got it narrowed down to a smaller area than we had." And she held out the book to him, tapping the page quickly as he took it.

"Um, this is a map of the whole greater Middle East, including India. And parts of North Africa." He had said, frowning.

"I narrowed it down based on the languages she was writing in, so I was able to count out most of Africa and Eastern Europe, I did a chart of her friends on facebook, her friends on google, her friends on LiveMocha, her friends on CouchSurfing, her friends on..." Misao kept rattling off sites as she took the large back from him and began marking cities and whole countries. "I've gone through her phone contacts but all her text and calls were deleted by an outside source. Someone wanted to hide their connection to her." She said hurriedly as Kenshin opened up his mouth to ask why someone would do that.

He shut his mouth and crossed his arms, looking over her shoulder at the places she was marking. The groups of dragons in most of the places falling under her markings were very private and very territorial. They trusted no one, dragon or human, outside of their small family tribes, and bonds with other tribes involved a series of protocol that was almost impossible to navigate if you had been born outside the area. If Kaoru had been with a dragon from one of these families, without the family blessing, he was sure that the family would have no trouble killing off a traitor. At least, as far as he knew. It would make sense why he would not have heard of a dragon's death. Dragons from most of those areas no longer reported deaths and births to the council, and had not for a long time.

"It seems strange she would have gotten involved with one of these families."

"Or that a member would find her. I've got to narrow this down more for Megumi, and then find the information on the magic and energy patterns she needs so that there is a chance your plans will work." She smiled mischievously, "I'm glad she's a she. It would have been quite awkward had you found a guy... So..." Her eyes danced and her smile widened, "How's your part of the plan going? Are you working on winning her over? Wooing her?"

"Oro?" His eyes widened and he held up his hands and shock, "No, no, no! That's not, I mean..." He was stuttering as Misao laughed and playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Megumi is so right! You haven't thought this through at all!" And she laughed again at his stuttering, holding her sides, "You can't just go up to her and say, 'Yeah, we're dying, if we bond it will be all hunky dory!' The magic is not going to work like that."

"What am I supposed to do, bring her flowers and chocolate?" he bit out, hoping the young dragon would stop laughing at him.

"Seriously, baka, just pay a bit of attention. Now go away, I only have an hour until she wakes up and I want to be there to get a bit more information out of her. You should bring us snacks and lunch..." and she shoed him out into the hall where he had thought about what she said and then headed to the kitchen.

Kenshin smiled to himself. He couldn't have imagined things going this well at first. In the week since he had brought Kaoru to his home, she had gotten much stronger. Also, she had slowly begun to trust them. He had Megumi and Misao to thank for that. Megumi was not going to leave her patient, and Misao had taken to coming in and hanging out with both of them when Kaoru was awake. She brought movies and books, but mostly they talked and laughed. One day Aoshi had come in and brought with him Kaoru's bag she had left on the plane and he had managed to track down through security and lost and found, and she was thrilled to have it back.

Kenshin would sometimes sit with the three women when he brought in the food Megumi had suggested, and quickly found out she loved the little animals and scenes he'd create with rice balls and food trays. While she was playing with and eating a little rice rabbit, Misao had given him a thumbs up behind her back, and he had managed not to blush. When Kaoru would ask questions, all of them would be as open as possible, without mentioning dragons. She seemed mostly interested in places they had been and seen, and different stories. She was still not talking about her life, but she'd let little things slip, and he could see Misao taking mental notes to try and figure out what dragon, and what type of magic they were dealing with. It should have been easy but Misao had only managed to cross out a few places she had marked, and Megumi had just started reading what she could on the places that were still left.

Megumi finally announced her able to get out of bed, something her and Kaoru had been arguing about for the last couple of days. Besides short trips to the bathroom she had not left her bed, and had not left the room at all, and she was getting really antsy despite her how tired she was, and Misoa's attempts to distract her with movies.

That was how Kenshin found himself giving her a tour, after she had bathed, and changed into some clothes Misao had brought her.

"It too cold to wear those summer clothes you have!" the young dragon had said, pressing some heavier clothes into her arms.

"Misao! I can't begin to wear your size..." Koaru held up her hands as if to ward Misao off, but the young ball of energy just plopped them over, and Kaoru's hands went around them automatically.

"These aren't mine! These should be okay, perhaps slightly big. But the key here is warmer. It's cold outside. Kenshin will be here to give you a tour soon, go change!"

And when Kenshin walked in a short time later, that's how he found out Misao had stolen his cloths. Kenshin himself wasn't too happy when he realized what must have happened, but his dragon was quite pleased. Kaoru looked absolutely adorable in his large over shirt, belted in such away that the garment had a feminine look about it. His dragon liked her in his clothes. The shirt was long sleeved and dark blue with a bit of embroidery around the Chinese collar, and the end came down below her knees, a bit long for even dragon fashion. It might have looked frumpy at first, but she had it cinched at her waist with what looked like a light blue scarf tied behind her in a bow, and the end of the shirt flared a bit over her own leggings. Bright yellow ballerina flats completed the look. Megumi was reading at her desk, and Kaoru turned to face her.

"The shoes don't match, but they're all I had."

"Don't worry about the shoes, you look fine." He had managed to say, and she jumped, not having seen him enter. He wanted to say she looked perfect, adorable, and a whole host of other adjectives, but he swallowed that down as Kaoru smiled a bit. He saw Megumi roll her eyes, and decided to make a hasty get away.

He walked up to her and offered her his arm,

"Lady Kaoru, if you please?" His eyes sparkled, belying his serious demeanor.

Kaoru laughed a bit, and gave a small curtsy before straightening and looping her hand through his arm. "Lead on, good sir!"

And they were off.

"Don't go too far!" Megumi warned as they left, "She hasn't been out much. If you bring her back worn out, I will have your head!"

Kenshin gulped and then gave a smile, "I will do my best to honor her, Lady Megumi," and with another fluid bow, they both left, Kaoru giggling a bit.

Kaoru wasn't sure when she had decided to start trusting everyone. She'd only been here a week and had slept through most of it, but for the most part everything seemed right. She had met the hyper Misao, who was doing her best to keep her occupied when she was awake, and was actually quite fun to be around. Even Megumi seemed a lot less uptight when the young lady was in the room. Kenshin was quiet, not saying much when he brought the food, but was polite and courteous when he did speak. At first she wasn't sure what to make of him, because it seemed like he would just glance at her, and then ignore her. But when he started bringing in the elaborately built food trays after she had shown delight at the small rabbit rice balls he had made her, she knew that he had been paying attention.

Kaoru had thought about how much she was trusting these people around her as she was getting dressed. In the back of her mind, she thought this might be her chance to escape, but she frowned when she thought that. She had access to her phone now that her bag was back, she had access to internet, as Misao had brought a computer filled with movies and netflix and hulu. She was even left alone with it. When she asked about leaving, Megumi would do her best to answer, saying that the medicine wasn't working quite right, which was why she was still so tired all the time, and had been fighting with dehydration. Megumi had told her earlier that she thought she had hit upon the right medication schedule for her, and if it worked out, she would be free to go in a few more weeks, with just occasional checkups needed.

Strength was returning to Kaoru, and she was standing and walking more frequently, but she was still inordinately tired after doing simple tasks such as bathing. Megumi had been against her first bath, but Kaoru knew she smelled and she wasn't going to sit in filth any longer. Kaoru stubbornly demanded a bath, and Megumi had to relent, grumbling about wasted energy.

And it had been true, after her first bath Kaoru had been so tired she slept for twelve hours straight, according to her clock, but it had been worth it.

Her second bath, before the tour of the house had been much less tiring. But she had insisted upon it as well. Megumi just commented that it was pure stubbornness that had kept her alive and let her have her way.

The door to the bathroom was behind a place in the stone colored wall that stuck out slightly, creating the illusion of a flat wall from Kaoru's place on the futon. In fact, to see the opening, one had to be on almost the other side of the room if they didn't know it was there. Inside the bathroom was a large bathtub and shower, which ran some of the hottest water that Kaoru had ever felt. She loved it, especially since the rooms had a tendency to be fairly cold sometimes.

The basement "house" was huge. Kaoru was not even sure she could call it a house. Everywhere she turned was a new hallway or room.

"Why is it so dark here? Where is all the furniture?" she asked, as her and Kenshin slowly walked through what he told her was the main hallway.

"Well, it's dark here because we don't really use lights. Even though this is the basement area, we have the walls built to let in light from outside, but keep things out like rain and curious animals. There are a couple of large entrances, direct from the basement to outside, which most everyone uses, but we do have a stairwell to the main house upstairs. Most of us prefer downstairs though, it's easier to heat in the winter. We don't use a lot of furniture, and most of what we do have is antique. We keep it upstairs for show."

"How do you heat down here?" Kaoru asked, looking around for vents or fireplaces. "It seems like it would be harder to."

"Well, we have this system built that I don't quite understand myself. Our architect designed it as we were hoping for a system to keep ourselves off the grid. We wanted to save money and energy if we could, and let someone from the university build this place to test his ideas, it actually works really well for us though for others it might be a bit too cool. We're all a bit warm blooded." He smiled, "Ready for upstairs?"

Kaoru nodded, and followed him, "I don't think it's been too cold on this tour. Some times though, I do find it colder at night."

"I will make sure you have more blankets then, and a heater," He said in a matter of fact way as he led her forward. "I wish you would have told us sooner, we sometimes don't think about the cold. I am very sorry."

"It is okay, I don't find it too bad." But later that night several large comforters had been taken to her room, and a propane heater set up in the room.

The upstairs house was nothing like the one below.

"Oh my goodness, Why don't you live up here?" Kaoru asked, as they looked through another large room filled with antique furniture, books, lace, curtains, carpets and large open windows that looked out on the most beautiful scenery Kaoru had ever seen. There were bedrooms and sitting rooms and every other sort of room. "It looks like a museum!"

"I actually inherited this house and this land, and most of the stuff is so old, and so delicate, that I don't feel quite right living up here. Kaoru was too busy admiring a large grouping of miniature paintings framed on one wall and did not notice the look of sadness, or perhaps uncomfortableness on his face.

"Well, it's quite a horde," Kaoru said, turning her attention to a bookshelf filled with books she knew were all old and rare. She didn't notice him start at her word. He followed her around, and let her lead, answering questions she had about everything, and directing her attention to other small details she may have missed. After awhile, she found a room with a small sofa and sat down, catching her breath.

"I'm afraid Megumi is going to be onto be for wearing myself out, but it's so amazing here," She said, facing a window, she tilted her head when she felt Kenshin sit down beside her. He smiled at her and she glanced back out the window.

"Then we should wait here until you feel stronger." He suggested smiling, "A fainting couch is a good choice for that, I believe."

Kaoru couldn't help but laugh a bit at him and blurted out, "You remind me of him in some ways, you just act a whole lot older I think," And then she clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh my God, I'm sorry, I didn't think about how bad that sounded. Not that you're old! Just more mature!" She was babbling trying to make up for her slip. She was blushing, and all Kenshin could think of was how adorable she looked.

He couldn't help tease her a bit, "Aww, you think I'm just an old stick in the mud then? I know I'm not as hip as Misao..." he turned his expression into a pout and looked at her with the saddest face he could muster.

She shook her head, "Oh! No, not at all, I think you are fun to hang out with! I was just comparing..."

In embarrassment, she turned and looked once again out the window, so she didn't have to see his expression. He had been picking on her.

That was when she saw it.

"What is that?!" she yelled, jumping up and nearly knocking Kenshin off his seat, and pointing at a large shape descending through the trees.

* * *

**A/N** - So Kaoru is becoming more comfortable with her surroundings, I did a little doodle for my story cover (Didja notice?) and I think next time will have more plot. Characters appear, things are found out, We'll get more of Kaoru's story. I think. Maybe in the chapter after next. Depends on what I get to write. I'm looking for a beta, as I think I could use a second set of eyes. I have the story in my head all worked out, but I think I should make sure it's coming out in a way that can be followed. Anyway, thank you for reading this far, let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5  
Girls' Night Out**

* * *

Kenshin let out a little cry, letting himself fall backwards over the side of the sofa and hit the floor with a loud thump. Kaoru turned her head away from the strange site framed in the window, and was by his side without a second thought. She had barely had a glimpse of the strange... creature.

"Oh, Kenshin, are you okay?" She touched his shoulder, kneeling beside him, one of his legs was still cocked over the sofa and when he opened his eyes he looked a bit dazed and he seemed to be watching the room spinning. "I am so sorry! Can you move? Can you get up? Let me get Megumi!" She had started to jump to her feet but his hand grabbed her forearm and he pulled her back down again.

"I think I will be okay. Will you help me sit up?"

With a surprising amount of strength and grace, Kaoru helped him sit up, and then helped him to his feet. He allowed a little bit of help from her, and she handled the weight well. After a minute he declared himself able to walk back without assistance.

She turned back to the window at his words, then frowned. "It's gone! Did you see what it was?" She asked, turning to him as he shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm afraid I just saw flailing blue sleeves and then a ceiling." He hoped she would take the bait, but she was now pressed up fully against the window, trying to look out at either side of the house. Finally she gave it up as a lost cause and huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

"We should probably returned. I promised Megumi I would not wear you out, and you seem a bit flushed. I am sure I will get a scolding now." He offered her his arm, which Kaoru took and she allowed herself to be led back downstairs.

"Kaoru, do you dance?" She blinked at the unexpected question, and he seemed almost surprised at himself for asking.

"I've never had the chance, so I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"When you helped me up, you were very strong and graceful, like a dancer."

"Ah, probably come from martial arts training." She said laughing. "I was told that if I was good at reading body movement and language, I would be able to dance, but I've never had a reason to test that theory."

"What form of martial art did you do?" Kenshin walked slowly, she was looking tired, and he liked the extra time talking with her. As long as no one was asking about her old bond mate, she enjoyed talking. But he could understand. He still could not quite think the name of his. It still hurt.

Kaoru smiled a bit sadly here, sighing. "I was supposed to be the heir to my father's legacy, the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Unfortunately he died before I could learn more than the basics of his style of swordsmanship. I tried to learn other styles, but it has been hard. Our basic belief was that all life was sacred, and it was our duty to use our knowledge to protect ourselves, those we care for, and do our best to help those who wish to do us harm. The style was supposed to be a way to revitalize the spirit and to help protect the people who need it most."

"Unfortunately the sword is a tool used for killing in most styles." Kenshin observed.

"Yes. I've done my best to catalog what I remember of his style, but as for my own training, I've had to learn a different, empty hand technique. There are moves that counter swords, but very few moves and kata are taught using them. I've had to learn and build my father's legacy from scratch. Aside from the basic tenet of non violence, I believe the style I am working on is very different than the one he developed."

"So that is what you do, learn and teach swordsmanship?" He asked the question innocently enough but something about it made her frown. He couldn't understand her change in mood, but before he could ask or apologize, Misao raced around the corner, nearly straight into them. For one painful second, Kaoru was quite sure they were all going to end up on the floor, but Misao skidded to a stop and both her and Kenshin were able to grab her arms to keep her from falling over.

"Oy, Kenshin!" she said, hardly pausing for breath and seemingly unconcerned for her near death experience. "I was looking for you!"

"I noticed." Something about the way he answered didn't make sense to Kaoru. She expected him to laugh at the near collision, but he seemed perturbed. "I am sorry it took awhile to find me. We were upstairs having a look at the view."

Misao seemed to turn a bit pale, then smiled. "Ah! Well, I wish you would have told me." She said, placing an emphasis on the last two words as she still continued to smile brightly. "I would have found you sooner."

Kaoru noticed Kenshin looked a bit sheepish, and for some reason she thought there was more to this exchange than just the words. Their reactions just didn't make sense. To break the tension, Kaoru blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Misao! I saw the weirdest thing! This large... thing... just came down through the trees. It surprised me so much I knocked Kenshin straight over a couch! By the time I made sure he was okay, it was gone."

Misao opened her mouth as if she had just realized something and Kenshin looked at her funny. There was a small blush on Kenshin's cheeks.

"That's... strange." Misao managed, looking like she really wanted to laugh or comment on something but didn't quite dare.

"Misao, I am about to go see Aoshi after I drop Kaoru off. Would you be willing to talk with me then?"

Trying to hold back her laughter and failing miserably, Misao nodded and sprinted off to go find her mate.

As Kenshin and Kaoru continued their walk back, Kaoru asked about Misao.

"Ah, well, it's not often that I am so clumsy." He said, "I am sure she's going to tease me about it, that I am."

Kaoru turned to apologize, but she could see a smile forming on Kenshin's mouth as if he found everything amusing as well.

-

Misao snickered a bit as she made her way to Aoshi, and quickly.

When she walked into the room, he raised an eyebrow at her questioningly as she was still somewhat laughing as she jumped up to sit on the empty side of his desk.

"Kaoru saw me." She said, "No, don't look at me like that. Kenshin had presence of mind enough to cause a distraction, by falling over a couch." Here she had to grab her sides as a fresh gale of giggles engulfed her. "I would have given anything to see that. I'm not sure she saw much. But I think I found our mystery dragon. Or, I've at least narrowed it down to three territorial areas she has been in very close contact with. If I can get her to confirm, I can start getting research done for Megumi, and... have you seen Sano?" She asked.

Aoshi shrugged. Sano was not known for punctuality. He was sure that the dragon would turn up eventually.

"Anyway, I think they have a chance, and I've got a plan that I hope will make it work. At least she doesn't seem to be pining over anyone. Unless she's hiding it. There's always that possibility. But Megumi has been trying to figure out the emotional extent of the broken bond. I figure we can work on that together. The physical was fairly deep, and she has a pretty decent sized scar according to Megumi. It doesn't seem to be bothering her."

"That is good to hear," Kenshin said, walking into the room and hearing the part about Kaoru's scar, "I would hate for it to be bothering her. Did you find more about a possible mate?"

"Kenshin!" Misao squeaked, then calmed herself. "Well, mate, no. But geographically I've narrowed it down to three places. I doubt you will like any of them, but it will narrow down our search. I thought the wedding information would narrow things down, but it seems like every single one of her friends got married with in the last six months."

"All of them?"

"No," Misao "said, but honestly, it was a lot. I've double checked everything with the places she went on her tour and I've narrowed it down to Karachi, Islamabad, or Indore. She has several friends from each of these places, at least one from each group has gotten married and returned and I've checked with Aoshi, she has been to those areas. 'Jaan' is an acceptable form of endearment, and she was up until fairly recently in pretty close contact with her friends from these areas. The only problem is, I haven't found any information about anyone who has died... so I can't pin down one group that's more likely than the rest. Plus, I'm not sure about the magic. I have to talk with Megumi, and see if it matters whether the magic originates from a family in Karachi or Islamabad, but with the small family groups, perhaps I'll have to look at individual families in each city. That and I don't have a good estimation on the number of dragons in the area!" Here she threw up her hands and finally paused for breath. Before Kenshin could answer, or even just recover from the normal shock of one of her deluges of information, she started again. "And tonight I have a plan!"

-

"I refuse to watch that movie again!"

"But Megumi! It's Kaoru's favorite..."

"Pick something less sappy."

"But it's a girls' night out," Misao was arguing, "It's a tradition to watch sappy movies!"

"I do not have enough alcohol in me for that."

"But you don't have any alcohol..."

The girls were not in their usual place in Megumi and Kaoru's room, but in a room in the top floors. Not the first above ground floor that Kenshin had shown Kaoru earlier, but an upper area that seemed to be some sort of storage area, but so much neater and cleaner than just an attic. They had walked up several flights of stairs and Kaoru had exclaimed about the size, and Megumi had fretted about Kaoru getting tired. There were several soft, large sofas and one bed in the room, along with tons of boxes, trunks, and various brick a brack left around. Kaoru had been amazed.

"Where did it all come from?"

"Kenshin's Uncle. He knew his wife loved old, beautiful things, so whenever he would go away, which was all the time, he'd send her something, or bring her something. He just couldn't help himself because he always wanted to make her smile."

Kaoru smiled at the thought, a little bit sadly. "It would be lovely to have someone think about you that way sometimes..."

Misao had seen her expression turned inward and she pounced on Kaoru, "No! No thinking sad thoughts. It is only about us girls tonight. I used to sneak up here and try on clothes." She grinned mischievously. "I got into so much trouble wearing this huge Victorian lace wedding veil as a cape and trying to fly out the window!"

"You were a hellion" Megumi agreed as she pulled a table over to set their computer on.

"Is that a phonograph?" Kaoru motioned toward a large piece in the corner. "Does it play?"

"I think we'll have to dig it out a bit, no, Misao and I, you've done too much today, just go look in that box over there, and find some things to wear."

"Don't forget those trunks behind that chest. Oh, don't forget the chest too. I seem to remember good stuff being in there."

Kaoru looked where they were pointing and it seemed like the whole area was nothing but a huge collection of clothing. There were laces and muslins and brocades and velvets and things that Kaoru was unsure if she even knew a name for them.

"Oh! Look! Kimono!"

And so to slightly static music, the three gossiped about clothes and hair and styles. Kenshin brought up food, but when it looked like he might try and stay to chat, the girls pelted him with pillows, rolled socks and potpourri packets they had found mixed in with the clothes and he beat a hasty retreat.

Soon they found themselves on the bed arguing over movies.

Megumi really had no desire to watch a chick flick, especially one that Kaoru had already watched downstairs several times.

"But Ever After is good!" And Megumi rolled her eyes.

"I would rather watch a musical than..."

"I know a good musical!"

"No!"

Soon they were flipping through movies online.

"Ooh, look, Aladdin! I haven't seen that in forever. Does that count as a musical?" Misao looked over slyly at Megumi, then her and Kaoru burst out singing, off key and at the top of their lungs.

"A Whole New... WORLD!"

Megumi wailed piteously, clutching her ears with her delicate hands as the two continued through most of the song. Soon she decided that wasn't enough, and both Kaoru and Misao were trying to sing off key as loudly as possible and duck the blows from two large feather pillows at the same time. Soon the shrieks from the high notes were indistinguishable from shrieks from direct hits from the white missiles.

Finally they stopped, Kaoru flopping down to look up at the ceiling from her place on the bed and telling them just to start something.

"Well I come from a land from a far away place... hey, where do you think it takes place."

"Iraq? The city of Agrabah, based on midlevel Baghdad I thought." Kaoru said, not moving from looking up at the ceiling.

"Is it really? I always thought it took place somewhere in India..." Misao said, clicking a random movie and waiting for it to load.

"Really? No one in the film looks remotely Indian at all."

"And the sultan keeps making references to Allah." Megumi added.

Kaoru sat up, "But there are Muslims all over India. There were probably rulers at the time who were."

"Really? How do you know so much about it?"

"I used to love that movie," Kaoru said, grinning. "I always wanted to be Jasmine. She had a tiger and a magic carpet. So I learned a lot about the movie. And a lot of my friends are from a lot of different places. I don't like insulting anyone, and I've had to keep a lot of information straight in my head to keep from doing that."

"What about..."

"Shh!" Misao said, turning to the screen, "It's starting."

Megumi was a little put off, but she knew Misao had a plan. And Kaoru had been dodging any specifics about her own life with a skill that must have been studied. She never knew someone who could talk so much about so little, and say a lot!

The movie was something Megumi had never heard of, and to Misao it looked somewhat familiar. But Kaoru shot up, "Ooh! I love Second Hand Lions! How did you know?"

Misao shrugged, "It was being suggested I didn't think you had seen it, we can change it..."

"No! If you haven't seen it, you have to. It's so romantic!" She stared off into space, and wrinkled her nose, "Well, it sort of is. Part of it is. No, just watch!" And she promptly positioned herself better to watch.

"I'm not seeing romance here, a lion, yes but..." Megumi said after a while, not that she was complaining.

"Shhh," Kaoru said harshly, "They're only just about to start the story."

"Story...?"

"Shh!" Both her and Misao put their fingers to their lips, keeping their eyes glued on screen.

It took Megumi a bit longer to fall into the story, but it wasn't long before her confused comments about where this was going turned to frustration with the characters. At this point all three started throwing out suggestions.

"No! Don't turn your brother in for money!"

"It's just gold!"

"Look out behind you!"

"No, the trapdoor full of money is /right there!/ What are you doing?"

"Watch out for the Lion!"

By the time the lion scene was over, Kaoru was in tears. It didn't take Misao long to follow suit, and though Megumi never did actually cry, when the young boy asked about Jasmine, even she was looking misty eyed. Kaoru and Misao were hugging each other, crying huge tears at that scene.

"But... but! They had true love!"

When the movie was over, Misao snapped the computer shut.

"Oh my goodness, that was actually quite good. I can see what you meant about romantic, though I would have expected true love to conquer all or something."

"But that's what makes it so good! It's realistic and fantastic all at the same time. You aren't sure who to believe, and what is real at first, just like the boy, but you don't believe something based on if it's real or not. If you want to believe in something, you just believe in it!" Kaoru sighed happily, with a bittersweet longing.

"Misao sighed, "I think I would die without Aoshi, actually, I'm sure of it. Did I ever tell you how we met?" She included Megumi as well as Kaoru with that question. Megumi went to snap that she'd heard it all a thousand times, but shut her mouth at a quick look from Misao.

"You were probably doing something stupid to get his attention." Megumi said. Kaoru perked up, wanting to hear her friend's story.

"You're part right Megumi. The first time I met him was the time I was wearing the lace veil as a superhero cape. I climbed my way out of the window, ran my way across the roof, and straight off the side of the house. Aoshi caught me." A dreamy look came over her face as she remembered. "He had been leaving, and I just fell right into his arms. He looked so shocked, and then we were covered in this lacy fabric as it quickly followed me down..." Misao was blushing. Kaoru was laughing.

"I bet he didn't know what to do!"

"It was great, he took the giant veil, wrapped me up in it, and handed me off to Okina after he answered the door. That's my grandfather, He was so mad! Aoshi treated it like he was delivering the paper. Now, it was the second time I did something stupid!"

"Oh?" Both Megumi and Kaoru prompted.

"I tried it again! Of course he had already left, and the second time I got hung in the tree. Ruining the poor defenseless veil." She smiled and Kaoru began laughing harder. Even Megumi was laughing. "I was actually stuck there for a while until they found me! I don't think I went near a window for awhile."

"I told you she was a hellion!"

"But it seemed to work, She has Aoshi now. Ne?"

Misao smiled, "It took years after that for me to even get him to look at me. He was older and I'm sure it embarrassed him to have a sneaky, slightly insane, and very much infatuated young little hellion popping out of nowhere and trying to land on him." The image of this sent all of them into fits of giggles.

"It's hard going after clueless guys," Misao added in a long suffering voice.

Kaoru nodded. "Chasing after my Jaan was like that. He told me it would never work, but I took it as a personal challenge." Here Kaoru grinned a bit. "It was awful, I tried everything, and nothing would work! He was just not interested."

"Did you ever really get him?"

"What did you do?"

"Well, when it started we were both friends. We decided to 'date' fairly early on but he was very up front at the beginning that it wouldn't work out. His family would have none of it, all the basic reasons, so of course I did what any normal, rational young lady would do..."

"What?"

"Try harder! I had to be incredibly subtle about it. Figure out what made him happy, what came off as too much, and slowly try and figure him out. At first, I wasn't even sure why we were dating. The most daring thing we ever did with each other was sit close enough to read the same book, despite both of us developing an impish streak as long as a cornfield in Iowa. I was starting to think he really was gay, but I finally made a breakthrough, I think. I'm not sure."

Megumi and Misao were listening intently. It was the most she had spoke of her romance and bonding.

"Well, what happened?" Misao asked.

"What did you finally do? Did he give in?"

"No, nothing like that. He broke up with me."

Misao quirked and eyebrow and scratched her ear as if to clean out some wax. "I'm sorry, I thought you said, 'breakthrough'" and Megumi nodded.

"Well, that was the night I kissed him!" Kaoru said, grin widening. "After he said he couldn't do this anymore, I said, 'Okay, but since we're in America, let's do the goodbye the American way.' And he stood there looking confused, and then finally he just nodded and I jumped in his arms, and gave him the biggest kiss ever. And I didn't let go until he kissed me back! Of course I didn't see him again for almost a week, and I wasn't planning on seeing him again. I had just wanted the one goodbye kiss, and wasn't expecting him to just show up after that. It was strange, because we never got back together. He just always seemed to be where I was a lot of the time. Much more protective. I was just thrilled he was paying me attention, and wasn't mentioning how it wouldn't work out anymore, though we both still knew it wouldn't. Not exactly a riveting love story, I'm afraid."

"No, no! It's..." Misao began.

"Fascinating!" Megumi said, nodding.

"I didn't realize how much I would miss him until I got on the plane after the wedding. I guess I got extremely heartsick sometime right after that. I don't remember much after the plane ride."

"A lot of times, people aren't sure what relationships will have the biggest effect on their lives." Megumi intoned sagely.

"It's weird, because I feel mentally I've always accepted the fact we couldn't be together, but sometimes, I feel his absence so acutely, that I can barely breath. I just feel this pain." And she placed a hand over her new scar."Sometimes I wonder if I had my heart removed because it hurts so much right here. I don't even remember doing something to get this scar."

"I am sure all wounds heal with time, right Megumi?"

Megumi nodded.

And Kaoru smiled.

Finally, to change the subject, Kaoru turned to Megumi, "What about you?"

And Megumi frowned a bit while Misao started giggling.

Megumi shot her a look, and then sighed, "Speaking of falling for clueless guys..." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, he can't help it if you are never nice to him!" Misao countered, looking stern.

"Who isn't Megumi nice to? Kenshin?"

"Kenshin? No! Sano!" Misao said laughing. "Remember that day he was here, and these two woke you up arguing before he had to leave to work on something for Kenshin? Him!"

Kaoru looked thoughtful, "I was still pretty groggy then. I vaguely remember yelling. And Kenshin was there too, right?"

"Well, he wasn't yelling but he was definitely angry at them for waking you up," Misao said smiling. "Though speaking of which, you look about ready to fall over now. Lights Out?"

* * *

**A/N** - I've been feeling bad and I've been writing a lot instead of doing things that give me much more acute headaches. But as it is, I've been putting off some work that I need to really get done, so I may have to change to a once a week schedule. Not that I've been on much of a schedule, but at least I've been writing. I promise if I get done with my work early I'll post some happy RuroKen goodness. Next chapter will have more Kenshin, I promise, I prefer writing more with him, though you wouldn't know it from what I have so far. This chapter was actually pretty fun to write, despite it being mostly dialog which I always have a difficult time with. I seriously need to find a beta. Used to have one that lived in a bowl, but he was pretty useless for writing purposes.

So, more Kenshin next chapter, and then the chapter after comes Sano with a surprise, then some secrets are revealed, then... Well, hopefully it will go in the direction I want.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed or favorited or even just read my little story. I hope everyone is enjoying it! Let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **  
**In to Town **

* * *

Megumi had been fascinated by Kaoru's story. Dragon bonding rituals were varied, but most rituals she had encountered were quite complex and the magic used wrapped up in the emotions of those forming the bond. Kaoru's bond looked to have stemmed from nothing more than an intense focus on her part and physical contact, however brief. The next day Megumi filled four pages of her book quickly, the words and observations just flowing.

Things that had confused the healer about Kaoru and her reaction to a broken bond were starting to make sense with the information Misao had gotten out of her, even without learning anything more specific than how the bond had occurred. Kaoru hadn't recognized her mate's protectiveness as a desire to hoard, nor his focus toward her as a desire to strengthen the bond she had initiated. Thinking about the wedding, however, made Megumi pause and sit back, staring ahead in deep contemplation.

It seemed extremely unlikely that whatever his culture, a bonded dragon would just up and marry someone who was not his mate. If family had anything to do with it, she wondered if they knew of the bond and forced the marriage anyway. Perhaps he had not known about the bond they shared. The fact he did not see her for more than a week after it had formed, after their first kiss, suggested that he was either fighting it or completely unaware of its presence. If the information Misao had given her about bond mates in the area was true, had he known about it he would have been much more protective of Kaoru.

Unless, of course, he was protecting her by keeping her away from his family. The bond was severed, so perhaps they had killed him when they found out he was taken by someone who had not been approved by the clan.

She finally leaned over the ledger once again, made a few more notes and went to let Kenshin know her theories. And perhaps help him with the grand plan of saving both his and the human's life by healing their bonds. But for that to work the idiot would have to let her know that they weren't just strange humans living off by themselves. And it would probably help if he worked on developing a relationship with her. While bonds made for political reasons had been the norm many centuries ago, she doubted if Kaoru would just agree to it, even for 'medical reasons.'

Misao had been doing her best to get them together at every opportunity, and she was sure even Kaoru was starting to get a bit suspicious. Right now, if Kaoru was aware of Misao's plans, she probably thought that it was just the hopeless romantic in Misao. If Kaoru realized that everyone was silently rooting for a relationship between her and the clan leader, then she was sure the stubborn girl would run off for no other reason than to fight what everyone wanted. After all, she had gone after someone just for 'a challenge.'

When Misao had not so subtly asked Kaoru what she thought about Kenshin a couple of days later, Kaoru had shrugged not looking up from the computer.

"He's handsome and polite, but too short."

"But... He's taller than you!" Misao had been quick to observe, her look of happiness at the start of Kaoru's sentence had melted into a half hidden horror that she wouldn't like Kenshin.

"True, but most of the men in my life have been much taller. My father was almost a giant, and I don't want to crush Red with my flailing about."

"So you've thought about you two together!" Misao had exclaimed happily and Kaoru had closed her mouth and refused to say any more.

Megumi had glanced over at Misao and gave her a look that quite plainly said, 'Drop It.'

Megumi had been much more subtle. She made sure to keep Misao away and to call Kenshin down for his check up when she knew Kaoru was getting restless. It always ended up with them going somewhere. Even if it was just to the kitchens.

Today however, they had gone to town after they had fixed the jeep.

For the most part, the group got in and out of their territory by completely different means, but as Kaoru couldn't just sprout wings, and with Kenshin refusing to allow anyone to tell her exactly what was going on he couldn't carry her into town himself, they had to take the old car that no one had touched in years that had refused to start at first.

"Battery" Kenshin and Kaoru had said at the exact same time as Kenshin tried to start the jalopy.

"I'll get the starter, you have one, right?" Kaoru had said, jumping out of the car. But Kenshin was out with her, popping the hood and opening the door in a quick fluid motion.

"Up here, not a problem." And it was on the shelf right next to the driver's side of the car and he was quickly unraveling the cords and looking for an outlet.

"How's the gas and oil? Will that be a problem?" Kaoru said, pulling the hood all the way up and securing it open. She quickly found the dip stick and pulled it out. Kenshin tossed her a rag, and she wiped it off and she checked the oil. "Color's good on the oil, a bit low though." She replaced the stick as Kenshin moved behind her to hook up the battery. She also checked the radiator fluid, break fluid and transmission fluid, which she deemed all passable. She went to the shelves in the garage to see if they had any oil.

"Hopefully the gas will be fine, I have some fresh in that can if you want to go ahead and put it in. I've checked the plugs and wires, they all seem fine. Break down a lot?"

"When you're traveling in a bunch of foreign countries it helps to have some skill in this area. Also, my last car was twice as old as this one and I had to keep patching it back together because I couldn't afford a new one. Finally had to sell it for my plane ticket. It was either that or stay overseas."

Slowly, he had begun up things about her. She was a fighter, she loved learning and reading, she had lost her family, and she was fairly poor, but resourceful. And independent. With a temper. While trying to figure out what she did for a living, and joking around with her, Kenshin had finally gotten beamed in the head with a potato. She had stomped off after throwing it, complaining about idiot men being too small to hit with a frying pan.

Several things were off limits. Her relationship with her bond mate, Her relationship with her family, and what she did for a living.

After they had jumped the battery and made sure nothing else was wrong with the car, they settled in for a fairly long drive, though through some of the most beautiful country side Kaoru had ever seen.

"So what do you all do?" She asked, looking straight ahead.

"Hmm, that doesn't seem fair. I'll trade you an answer for an answer?" He stole a glance over to her, but she let no emotion show.

"New question, what is everyone keeping from me?"

"What makes you think we are keeping anything from you?" Kenshin asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral and his eyes on the road.

"When I was younger, I had no ability to read people. I only thought the best of people and it got me into trouble enough that I became aware of the problem. I took steps to correct it, I had to learn a lot when I started martial arts training, but nothing sharpens your ability to read non-verbal language like spending time with a bunch of people you can't understand. You all are keeping something from me, and I haven't pressed it because I genuinely like and trust all of you. But I must warn you that I have no patience when it comes to playing the part of a fool. I didn't spend enough time with my Jaan for Megumi's explanation to make complete sense either. What are you keeping from me?"

For a second, Kaoru felt, rather than saw a change come over Kenshin. Though he kept his eyes and face on the road ahead, there was something about him that nearly caused her to forget to breath. But it was just a second, and then it was over and he nodded. She tilted her chin in her stubborn way and refused to back down an inch.

"Megumi has been doing research into our condition, and she may have discovered something. Unfortunately, we won't be able to do anything about it as of yet, so instead of raising any alarm, or making snap judgments, or giving false hope, we are letting her work. There are several things about our condition that would be hard to explain to you without going through everything. If you wish, I will explain everything to you, but I must warn you that there are reasons I haven't explained everything. The details are not... simple."

"When were you planning on 'explaining' everything." Kaoru asked. The atmosphere in the car seemed heavier to her.

"Misao and Sanosuke were doing some research for her, and for me. Once I had information from them, I was going to explain everything."

Kaoru nodded, and then looked at him, "That seems reasonable. I will wait for them, then."

Kenshin turned to look at her quickly, "Really?" He had been expecting to have to fight this one out, her immediate acquiescence had thrown him off balance.

"Of course, I hate to explain anything without proper research or information I was unsure of. I see no reason to make myself sick with worry if you do explain everything to me and then I would be just as unsure as you. Right now I feel fine, whatever Megumi is giving me is, I think, helping, and I'm content to just leave it at that until you know something more concrete."

"Well that's... really level headed thinking." He smiled a bit at her.

After that, their talk was a lot more open and Kenshin was glad he had not had to fight that battle out with her. She was stubborn, but his dragon liked that about her. He had started to notice that her politeness and quietness was not timidness, but a tactic to sit back, observe, and plan. Even while reading from Misao's tablet around their home, she seemed to be cataloging everything that went on around her. Her exuberance seemed to be a shield. He and his dragon both recognized the similarities between themselves and this human. She was well trained. She was controlled (she could have hit him with the frying pan, it was closer). And the stubbornness. That had taken him a while to realize, because her stubbornness was not so overt. All her actions were always directed toward a goal, but not all of her actions were direct. For the most part she had never declared anything off limits as far as what she would talk about, but she knew how to talk around what they wanted, directing their attention elsewhere. He knew why she wouldn't talk about her bond mate. The one fight between him and Aoshi had come about from him snapping at Misao after she tried to goad him into talking about... her. He still couldn't bring himself to even think her name, and would only give information to Megumi reluctantly. Kaoru would only refer to him with without his name and had once let slipped that he had seemed young, but that was all. She, like Kenshin, would give information about the surrounding circumstances, but keep that part of themselves, their other half, protected.

"Does it bug you that you are dying?" Kaoru asked suddenly, staring out the side window and leaning against the door. She didn't look at him.

"Yes." He answered evenly.

"Even though we all are?"

He hadn't thought about it like that. For him, life was longer than most humans would fathom.

"If there is a chance I could live, I am going to take it. Why do you ask?"

"I am just trying to make peace with the fact that I might die sooner than I would have hoped. I am glad you were there at the airport."

"I am glad I made it in time." Kenshin said softly.

Kaoru gave him a funny look, and didn't say much more, but they were almost into town anyway.

Though it had not snowed, it was still too cold for too many tourist to be around town, so things were slow. Kaoru didn't mind, and Kenshin preferred it that way. Kaoru was wearing another large overcoat of his, and the first thing she wanted to do was to get a jacket of her own and some boots before the weather really kicked in. Kenshin was slightly disappointed.

He offered to buy her a new jacket and boots, but she told him no. She did ask for his help in choosing something that would be warm enough.

-

"What do you mean?" Kaoru said, frustrated, "It should work, there is no reason it shouldn't. Could you try running it again?" Kaoru's card was deciding not to work. She couldn't understand it. There should have been enough for the jacket and the boots. Her face was turning a bit red, but she was doing her best to not completely lose control.

"I'm sorry, it's not going through still."

Kaoru exhaled sharply, but spoke calmly, "Could you try running it with just the shoes?"

"No, you need a jacket, I can get it," Kenshin offered, "You can pay me back if you must." He added quickly as she opened her mouth to argue with him. "I just don't know when we'll be back in town, that I don't, so it would be wise to buy it now."

She seemed to be thinking it over, then nodded.

The shop keeper started boxing everything up and soon they were ready to go. "Thank you, Mr. Himura." The shop keeper called as the left. Kenshin holding onto her bags, and deftly keeping them out of her reach, though subtly so.

"I didn't see you pay..."

"I have an agreement with the owner there." He shrugged. "We've lived here for awhile, and know pretty much everyone. Lunch? It's getting late and I've got several places we need to go. I know a place that has excellent beef stew, as well as a large selection of different options."

"All right."

Everyone seemed to know Kenshin. He was always stopping to answer questions, or returning waves and greetings. As they entered the warm cafe, several people nodded and the waitress was quick to arrive.

"Kenshin, it's so good to see you again, and who have you got there with you?" She said in a bright voice and a southern accent.

"Hello Tae, it's good to see you as well, this is Kaoru. She will be staying with us up at the house for awhile. Kaoru, this is Tae." He called it the house, and Tae gave a little nod. It was part of the code. Kaoru didn't know.

Tae made Kaoru blush by asking if they were a couple and if Kenshin was treating her right and by the time she had ushered them to a booth, both were blushing. And Tae was laughing.

Kaoru ordered a pot of coffee, and Kenshin ordered tea, and Tae said she'd bring them out a bit of her soup, and if they didn't like it they could order what ever they wanted, but she had tweaked the recipe and wanted their opinions.

"Other people have to eat it no matter what, I only care what certain people think." And, winking at them, she disappeared to the back.

"I like her." Kaoru said, "Everyone and their brother seems to know you."

Kenshin laughed a bit, "One of the dangers of living in one place too long. Thank you Miss Tsubame." He turned to the young waitress who had brought out their drinks. "I travel a lot, but most of my time is spent here, when I can. It's peaceful, quiet."

"I used to think I would always stay, in our little house with the dojo. But after father died..." She hesitated and then continued. "It became apparent that I would have to leave and fend for myself. I was shuttled between distant relatives at first." She didn't say anything, and Kenshin was wondering if he should ask her to continue when Tae showed up with their food. They ate in silence for awhile, then, as Kaoru was finishing up she started talking as if she hadn't left off.

"I find it hard to talk about my family, and my father, and what was expected of me. After I left my family I was told I wouldn't amount to much, and I've always been put off when anyone asks what I do, because no matter what it never feels like enough. I am sorry if I get a bit put off when the topic is brought up. I am grateful for all that you have done for me. I am sorry for hitting you with the potato."

"It's no problem Miss Kaoru. I shouldn't try to push your buttons, especially since you have not been with us so long. I promise I have a hard head. Just let me know if something is a topic you don't wish to discuss. I'm not too good with subtlety."

When they left the cafe, after promising Tae that the soup was delicious and they weren't just telling her that and promising to come by more often, the wind had begun to pick up a bit, and they hurried through the rest of the errands Kenshin had to run. They made their way through a few shops, picked up several parcels for Megumi, went by the post office where Kenshin mailed off a letter, and ended up at the market where they argued good naturedly over foods and brands.

By the time they made it home they were chatting a lot less formally, and seemed much more relaxed with each other. As they walked in to the kitchen area, each carrying a few bags, Megumi had to kick Misao in the ankle to keep her from commenting on their proximity to each other and their relaxed stance. She pretended to be busy by the stove as Misao hopped around, clutching her ankle and yelling, and looked over to tell her to stop being so clumsy and to go get the rest of the bags. Kenshin and Kaoru had only stopped their discussion at Misao's cry and shrugged to each other. Neither noticed Megumi's self satisfied smile as she helped put up the groceries.

* * *

**A/N** - My brother has let me know that my writing style reminds him of a role play, and that he hates the modern elements of it. I am sorry if anyone else feels that way too, but I promise once I get finished with the story I'm going back to make some changes. As it is, I like the modernness of it. All dragons should use iPads! I'm doing my best to get back into writing and if I let some things slide, it's only because I haven't noticed while trying to focus on everything else. (No more "deepening frowns" and "quirking eyebrows" lol!) If you see anything that bugs you, let me know! I'm trying to do the best I can without a beta, and while I'm trying to juggle plot, characterization, dialog, subtext, and description... well... other things might just fall through the cracks. I promise you I am quite cool with suggestions and corrections!

I've sent out a few PMs to people who I would be interested in having beta my story, but I haven't heard back. If anyone is interested, or knows someone who might be, send me a note!

Sorry this one isn't as long as the others. I've been working hard on another project as well. Wanted to add more, but I also wanted to post what I had.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **  
**Look Who I Found **

* * *

Kaoru had been feeling better and with Megumi's blessing had been spending more and more time outside. It was getting colder each day, but she didn't feel the chill in the air as she would have thought. Kenshin and Misao were her usual companions out hiking, and she was glad. She was not used to the area and after seeing the large... thing... outside the window she was a bit nervous to be by herself. Misao and Kenshin were perfectly comfortable with the area and promised nothing was going to hurt her. She wasn't sure what either one of them would do against a large attacker, but she did feel better with their company.

It was Kenshin who brought up her fighting style, and asked if she wanted to practice with him. He professed to a knowledge of kenjutsu, but, he told her, it was thoroughly based in killing arts.

"If you would rather not, I understand, but I would be honored to help with a cause so noble." He said, slipping into a more formal way of speaking.

Kaoru looked at him, not saying anything at first, and then she smiled, "I would be honored."

-

Misao was sitting next to Aoshi, and had been unusually quiet. When he looked over at her, she had her eyes closed and was leaning back in her chair, looking worn out.

He sent her a brush of affection across their bond, and she slowly opened her eyes. "It's just I know I'm missing something." She explained to him. "I'm thinking too hard."

"Do you want to start from the beginning, or go over a lead?" Aoshi prompted. "Or... we could just take a break? You have been working non stop."

"I just feel that I'm close, and if she'd just let one more bit of information drop I could figure out who, and Megumi could work her magic. Kenshin may have started out playing the role, but he's seriously head over heels for her. I don't think he knows it yet. But she plays everything so close to the vest with him."

"You know how it is. Even Kenshin won't speak of To... his last bond mate."

"Yeah, at least Kaoru will call hers 'Jaan' even if that won't help much."

"Lion Man." Aoshi added.

"What?" Misao looked up.

"You mentioned that she called him 'lion man' during your party. You couldn't find anything or anyone referred to as a lion in any of her friend lists."

Misao went quiet and pursed her lips, letting her chin fall on her palm, deep in thought. Aoshi turned back to his computer, and brought up her facebook page, intending to go through and see how many people she had been friends with who had closed their accounts.

Misao stood up suddenly, and was leaning over his arm, taking over his mouse from his hands to scroll back up to the top. She hovered the mouse pointer over the profile picture of Kaoru, one of the only ones in the group of five thousand that showed her. And she was on a lion. When she clicked, they both read the caption together.

'I saw this and thought of you!'

There was no other message, and no comment, but Aoshi was already typing furiously, and soon he found what he was looking for. Kaoru had tagged him before he had closed out his account.

"Thank you facebook, for not deleting any information!" Misao laughed as they pulled up and old cached page. And there he was, smiling brightly up at them, all the information they needed, right there in front of them. Misao pulled out her iPad, entering information quickly.

"Look, Islamabad! Megumi can work with that and I can find the family name and Yaata!" She exclaimed, cheering in Japanese as they cross referenced information, they heard someone enter the room.

"Megumi, you won't believe what..." And then she looked up and let out something between a squeak and a scream, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.

There in front of her was Kaoru's bond mate, completely alive, and most certainly not dead.

-

It was only his reflexes that allowed Aoshi to catch the iPad Misao had let fly as he himself was a bit shocked that the person they had just discovered was standing five feet from them. He was the exact same in the photo. The only difference was a small scar that ran across the upper bridge of his nose. He was dressed in the loose style most dragons preferred, but his shirt was much more colorful with its rich blues than the neutrals that the clan here preferred. Plus the cut was different, with the shirt slightly longer than necessary and a high collar.

Sano was behind him, and it wasn't until he waved and offered a greeting that they noticed, not having turned their eyes away from the tall, dark haired and bright eyed dragon in front of them.

"Hey, sup." Sano drawled, looking completely unperturbed at their reactions. "I ran into a friend of Kaoru's while doing my research into her family and he put me onto the search and when I found this dude, alive and kickin' I thought the Fox doctor might be interested, considering her research. His family name's Chaudry." He added, letting them know that they still had not shared names, and were therefore still bound by fairly strict protocol. Misao and Aoshi both gave a slight bow, which he returned, slightly deeper. Kaoru was partly right, he didn't just look young, he was young. Despite his height and human appearance, his eyes and mannerisms were that of a dragon who had just reached adulthood.

"I'm going to go get the Fox..." but before he could get out the door, Kaoru and Kenshin came into the room fresh from their earlier work out. They were joking about something that had happened Kaoru's face bright and flushed from exertion and her laughter. Kenshin stopped as soon as the walked in and he noticed the visitor, frowning slightly. Kaoru paused, and looked where he was looking, letting out a gasp.

"Asad, kya idder kr raha hey?" She asked without thinking, then blinked, "I mean, Asad, What are you doing here?"

-

Kaoru suddenly felt as she had in the car on their trip to town. The air felt much heavier, and a lot warmer. There even seemed to be a breeze. And she suddenly felt as she had when she was younger, completely confused as to what was happening around her. Kenshin and Asad had seemed to face off, with Asad not even turning to look at her and Kenshin stepping forward away from her. Both looked ready to fight if there facial expressions were anything to go by. Aoshi and Sanosuke had stepped back, away from her, but both look tense. The tension in the air seemed lessen as they stepped away, but things only calmed down once Misao stepped up next to her.

"Himura! Chaudry!" She said, biting out their names. "It's fine, I have her, drop it now. Sanosuke, go get Megumi."

No, Kaoru thought to herself, she had no idea what was happening.

The air got slightly more tense as Sanosuke passed her and Misao, but once he was gone she noticed her friend seemed much more calm.

"Too many men around you," Misao whispered in her ear. "You said he got protective. You weren't kidding."

Kaoru felt a deep flash of annoyance. He was married to someone else. Where did he get off deciding how many men around her was too many? She frowned at him, but he still wasn't looking at her, but at Kenshin. There was another stab of annoyance. He had not seen her in almost half a year and he was going to ignore her. Something in her was glad to see him, and another part was completely disappointed. It was hurting. Her heart was hurting.

"What are you doing with her here?" Asad finally bit out.

Kenshin went to answer, but Kaoru cut him off angrily, causing both men to finally look at her.

"I don't see how it's any of your business! What are you doing here? Megumi said you might have been dead, but even if you obviously aren't, you are married now!"

"You thought I might be dead? Why didn't you call me?" He looked kind of shocked, and Kaoru put her hands on her hips, ready to scold him.

"Let's think about this for a minute, yaar. How was I supposed to do that when you deleted every single account you had ever used, and even got rid of your cell phone once you left America! Even your friends were unsure where you had started work and didn't have your new numbers. A few of them are mad at you for not talking with them either, by the way. Let's see, how did you expect me to contact you since you made it so easy? And as to what I am doing here, I passed out at the airport on the way back and Kenshin found me and got me to Megumi who was able to help. How dare you accuse my friends of anything!"

Kaoru was livid and practically shouting at the end of her tirade. Something in her was hurt, broken, and she was disappointed and mad. She felt sick, and she was not sure what was causing it. She looked at her Jaan, and he looked sheepish and contrite, and while she was happy to see him alive, she wasn't completely happy to see him. He had left her, and even though she had known he would from the start it still hurt.

'Speaking of hurt' she thought wryly as she placed a hand on her chest and looked away from the two men in front of her. She was thankful for Misao's sudden support as she swayed a bit on her feet. She started to feel a bit like she had on the plane. Looking at the ground, she blinked and wondered why her chest hurt so much, and soon there were two people there to support her. Kenshin had come over, and was helping Misao help her sit on the ground. As she settled to the floor, the room still spinning slightly, she looked up to thank him.

When there eyes met she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Kenshin was too close, Asad was going to attack, and for a second, she was terrified for Kenshin, who was preoccupied making sure she was okay.

As Kaoru looked into Kenshin's eyes before she could speak or cry out a warning she saw his eyes narrow, and then she was worried about Asad despite the disparity in their size.

-

Megumi walked in to the room, to see Kenshin standing over a tall, but young, dark skinned dragon who looked a bit shocked, but was still grimacing. Misao was leaning next to Kaoru who, Megumi could tell was having problems with her energy levels. If that was her bond mate, then the broken bond would be taking more energy, trying to reform. She had not believed Sano when he had come into her room to tell her, but as she picked up her medical bag they both felt the surge of magic and raced to Aoshi and Misao's study.

"Misao, stay with me and Kaoru, everyone else, out!" She barked as though she was oblivious to the fight that had just happened. She marched in, sat her things down next to Kaoru and began to pull out what she would need. The idiot males could sort out their fight in another room for all she cared, but she had to help Kaoru before she got worse. She could see blood droplets forming on her shirt over the scar.

"If I look up and there are still people in this room I will incinerate you all myself, get out now!" She was too busy to feel gratified at the sound of a rush of bodies towards the door. As soon as they left, Megumi could feel Kaoru's energy stabilize a bit, but it was still dangerously low.

Misao leaned over Kaoru, holding her into a sitting position so Megumi would be able to give her more potion.

"So..." she said, in a light tone, "Do you still think he's too short?"

Kaoru smiled and laughed a bit, and then grimaced as she spoke.

"At first I thought Kenshin was done for, and then I thought he might kill Asad! I've never seen eyes glow that bright. Like fire. Will they be okay in there alone?"

"Kenshin will control himself. He wouldn't do anything to upset you." Misao was saying as Megumi gave her something hot to drink.

"It's a good thing Aoshi always has a pot on for tea..." Megumi said distractedly as she started mixing up some other powders. "I'm afraid your friend won't be able to spend much time with you. It's disturbing your energy levels."

"Energy levels?" Kaoru looked confused as she leaned against Misao.

"Kenshin did say he would explain once Sano got back. I'm afraid I haven't been completely truthful as to what we have been treating. I will let him explain." She added, seeing Kaoru's expression. She looked over at Misao who had gone still, closing her eyes and concentrating.

"Well, one of us should go break it up." Misao finally said, and at Kaoru's start, corrected herself. "They are just arguing! No fighting yet. But I will go see if I can settle things down. Men." She huffed the last word as she jumped to her feet, and darted away.

"Why are they fighting?" Kaoru asked Megumi.

"Territory. Your friend still sees you as his, and sees Kenshin as a threat."

"What an idiot. He's married."

"Still, he probably sees himself as responsible for you. Especially if he let the bond be destroyed and he feels guilty." Megumi was distractedly looking through her bag.

"Bond? You said that before. What is going on?" Her voice had started to shake a bit.

"I believe it is now time for me to explain everything," a warm voice told her from the doorway.

-

It had taken a lot of self control for Kenshin to not throw the young dragon through the wall. He was sure he would have survived the physical abuse, but that one look from Kaoru had stopped him. He settled for knocking him over and keeping him down. He was glad when Megumi ordered them out of the room. Kaoru looked terrible and he needed to calm himself.

As they made there way into the kitchen, marching stiffly from Megumi's order, a comment from the young dragon, Asad, Kaoru had called him, had Kenshin gritting his teeth and rethinking his desire to introduce him to the other side of the wall. Violently.

"She will come back with me."

"How do you figure that?" Kenshin asked, with an even tone that did not hide the fire in his eyes, nor his clenched jaw.

"She is my responsibility. If what Sano says is true about the bond, it's my fault and I should fix it."

"Speaking of the bond," Aoshi cut in, saving Kenshin from retorting, "How did it sever. Normally only death causes something like that."

The tall dragon shifted a bit uncomfortably. "I am not sure. I had no idea there was a bond, because none of the family rituals had taken place. After I bonded with my intended, this scar formed. He pointed to the bridge of his nose where the scar ran from above his left brow, across where the nose met the forehead, and the slightly under the right eye. The elders told me a bond I had formed before had been severed. I didn't understand what bond, didn't realize it was Kaoru. The elders told me it didn't matter because who ever it was, was probably dead. I just thought it was a mistake until Sano found me. When I knew she was alive, I knew I had to come and take her back to make it right."

"You aren't just going to come in here and take her back. You have already rebonded!"

"I can reform the bond. I think I can, anyway, with my family's blessing."

"And what makes you think Kaoru would choose that? We have been helping her here."

"Why wouldn't she?"

Kenshin knew his dragon was quite close to the surface of his skin, knew that it was only his extremely practiced control that kept him from changing and ripping out the young dragon's throat. Or using his fire element to incinerate anything in a five foot radius. But he knew he had a point. Would Kaoru want to go back to the dragon she had spent so much time pursuing? If they could reform the bond, would she want to? He looked up as Misao came in with a report.

"She's doing fine, apparently being too close to her old bond mate was causing the bond to try and drain her of energy to try and reform. Of course your new bond was keeping that from happening, so it was just killing her more quickly. You can't go see her I'm afraid." She turned to stare up at the tall new dragon, "Megumi has her stable again, but she hasn't worked something out to let you in the same room as her." And then she turned back to Kenshin. "She still doesn't know about anything. Megumi has let some stuff slip, but you did say you would explain everything to her."

Kenshin nodded. "Chaudry has expressed interest in taking her back to reform the bond. I will explain it to her." and with that he left, frowning. He couldn't help feeling slightly pleased that he would be the one to take to Kaoru, and not this other. Though even that feeling was overshadowed with the thought that he might lose her. Though he needed her for his own selfish reasons, to save his life, he found he had grown fond of her, and his dragon instincts were very disinclined to share.

* * *

**A/N** - Yay! Drama! A clash of cultures, and other fun things. Plus Kaoru gets a chance to go back to her bond mate. Even if he is married. How will she take that?

A bit of info here! The name Asad means 'lion' and is where the nickname 'lion man' comes from. All the dragons have different elements, though they won't come into play much. Kenshin is fire, Aoshi is ice, Sano is earth, Misao is water, Asad is air. Megumi is actually not a dragon, but a medium or witch. She had been studying energies, especially bond energies between dragons. She was working on energy manipulation when Kenshin found her and asked for her help. Megumi helps Kenshin, and now Kaoru, keep their energy stable while their broken bonds are raw and are basically acting like an energy drain. She can only help them so much, until the strain will finally kill them. I tried to make that apparent, not sure how well that's coming across.

Dragon culture is fairly conservative, based on rituals and energy. Asad's dragon culture is very, very conservative. It's this strict separation of male and female dragons that made it possible for a bond to form from something as simple as focus and a kiss. It's also why he kind of freaked out with all the dudes surrounding Kaoru. Because he's so young, he responds to age, which is why Misao was able to snap him out of it. She, while young herself, is still older than he is. Plus, he's a lot more calm with a female protecting Kaoru. Misao was able to pick up on all this because she's been studying the area and its customs for Megumi. Energy is not stable and she needs to understand as many nuances of the area as possible to help Kaoru with her bond. And if Kenshin and her decide to bond, she needs to make sure it's done correctly. Let's just say when Kenshin asked for her help he was pretty near death himself and had a pretty rough time with Megumi using him as a lab rat. Might write up that as a little short.

I'm not sure if this chapter really counts as drama, but I tried to deliver a bit :D Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I am very glad everyone seems to enjoy the modern elements (I like them too!) and I've made corrections to the last chapter and I'll update it tomorrow. I've been doing a lot of work, so I haven't had much time to write, but I'm trying to stay on top of everything. Y'all's really nice reviews keep me motivated and I keep taking time out to write 3 Until next time!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **  
**An Answer and A Dragon**

* * *

"It is time I explained everything to you, but first, are you okay?" He kneeled in front of her, noting how pale she looked, and brushed her hair gently from her forehead so he could check her temperature and her energy. She was obviously upset and unsure, but did not flinch away from his touch.

"You're hands are warm," She said, and then gave a small nod as he pulled back slightly, "I feel better than before, but I'm going to take a guess and say you're going to tell me what's really going on now? Sano is back, did he get the information you needed?" She asked him lightly, teasing a bit.

"Well, had I know that he would show up with that guest I would have informed you much sooner. Sano has a habit of being a bit lax about reporting in."

Before Kaoru could respond, Megumi handed her a cup, "Drink this quickly, and you should go someplace a bit warmer than a stone floor. Your energy levels are a bit better, but I still don't trust you with your... with Chaudry without bottoming out again. I'm going to go talk to him and see what can be done. Kenshin, you should probably take her upstairs to talk, I have no idea of the extent of the effects of the energies. He isn't too old, and his power is tied with his family, but it would probably be better safe than sorry." While Megumi was talking, Kaoru kicked back the warm drink and then stuck out her tongue. This concoction was more bitter than the last. She placed her cup on the ground and took Kenshin's hand as he held it out to her. He didn't bother to respond as Megumi quickly left the room.

She was a bit surprised with how quickly Kenshin helped her up and began leading her up to the house. She was used to a more leisurely pace.

"Kenshin?" She asked, panting a bit.

"I am sorry, Miss Kaoru, I just want to get you up there as soon as possible. I don't want to take any chances on your health and if distance is a key. Do you want me to carry you?"

Kaoru rolled her eyes and just kept up the pace. It wasn't that far, and she was feeling better the further she got away. She refused to go up the flights of stairs to the attic, though Kenshin looked like he might argue the point.

"Kenshin, I feel better here. I have no desire to go up several flights of stairs, let's just sit down. If I start to get worse, then you can drag me up there." Kenshin looked at her, trying to stare her down, but she just folded her arms across her chest and almost dared him to push her. He felt his mouth turn up.

"All right, but the moment I feel your energy dropping, I'm carrying you to the roof, and perhaps to town!" And he grinned as she rolled her eyes once again, but let him lead her to a sofa.

"This is where I saw that... thing." She said as she sat down, Kenshin following suit. At first she gazed out the window, but turned to Kenshin as he started talking.

"Yes, I believe I should come clean about several things regarding that. The first is, I saw very clearly who that was."

"Who?" Kaoru asked, wondering at his use of that word and what he could mean.

"Ah, yes, Miss Kaoru, we haven't been completely truthful here. But I have to explain. At first we just wanted you to get better without having to worry about the truth. After you started feeling better, I was worried that you would not trust us and leave, and we would not have been able to stop you. And then, I was worried, after awhile, that if I told you, that you..."

"That I would what?" Kaoru prompted as his pause lingered longer than necessary as he gazed at her.

"That you would be angry with me for keeping such a large secret. It's not in our nature to give up our secrets so easily either, even if we want to tell. I didn't want to tell a secret if I thought it would make you angry and leave."

"Your nature?" Kaoru prodded. She tried not to focus on the implications that if he didn't want her to leave that he liked her. Or needed her. She'd focus on that later, after she got the secret, and then decide how she felt about that.

"What you have to know, is there are a lot of us. Not as many as there once were, but we had to go into hiding and make ourselves invisible to people who would rather us be dead, or more useful than we are."

Kaoru had an expression of confusion on her face, and knew that whatever Kenshin was saying, he believed it whole heartedly. She had never seen anyone as sincere.

"You aren't about to tell me I'm a wizard or mixed in with some anti-You-Know-Who conspiracy, right?" She finally managed to ask.

Here Kenshin blinked and then laughed a bit, "Well, that's not what I thought you would pull out of that. But, no, you are not a wizard. Or witch. And there is no conspiracy. However, you did manage to get involved with dragons."

"Dragons?" Kaoru looked completely confused. "Those really large things with scales and teeth and sacrificial maidens and... wait, am I a sacrifice or something?"

Kenshin sighed, "The 'Maiden Sacrifice' fiasco was a story that got out of hand a long time ago when times were much different. I promise most dragons wouldn't know what to do with a maiden sacrifice if they got one. Your old bond mate included."

"He's a dragon?" She asked incredulously.

"He is a dragon. Which you managed to form a bond with."

"I formed a bond with a giant lizard? We're not even the same species... how does something like that even happen?" Here, she stopped and thought a second, "Wait a minutes. Are you talking an actual dragon? This isn't just slang for... I don't know... 'A Very Confused Desi' or something? We are talking magic and St. George and flying wings?"

"Yes, we are talking magic and creatures of myth." Kenshin's lips twitched and Kaoru couldn't make out his expression. She felt she was doing very well, not jumping up and running off, or completely freaking out. She frowned a bit and looked out the window.

"So 'who' was out there? And how do you all fit into this story?"

"You saw Misao flying in that day. She had been off doing some research in town and was just coming back."

"That was Misao?!" Kaoru looked at Kenshin sharply, who simply nodded. "But, she's tiny and that thing was huge!"

"Well, she's actually very small for a female dragon. Normally the females are a lot larger."

Kaoru narrowed her eyes.

"I know I saw something, but I'm not sure I can believe that creature was Misao. I'm trying to not run off screaming because I want to know the truth, I want to get better, and I did see something out there."

Kenshin stood up and offered her his hand when she took, although slowly.

"I will show you." He said to her and walked toward the window. He reached behind the curtain and pulled a latch, then pushed the large window outward, like a door. He stepped outside and Kaoru followed. "Just," He hesitated, bit his lip, and looked a bit unsure as to what he wanted to say, "Just don't be frightened. It's just me."

She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but she trusted Kenshin. He let go of her hand after a small squeeze, and then walked some distance away from her, finally turning and facing her. She wrapper her arms around herself, suddenly very aware of the cold. For a second, nothing happened, then there was a wash of heated air, and she could see his eyes glowing more brightly. He started to grow and change. His hair color began to seep into his skin until he was red all over, his hair becoming harder, as if they were large scales or horns. At first his clothes started to stretch, and then were hidden under more scales and color as well. He kept growing until it.. Kenshin... was right next to her, though he had started a fair distance away. Suddenly she had forgotten all about the cold as she looked at the very large dragon in shock.

He had turned into a fairly large, bright red and gold dragon, complete with beautiful wings of translucent gold veined with red that were tucked up neatly against his body. He seemed overly flashy, what with the way he glistened even in the soft light of the cloudy day. Kaoru wondered what he would feel like, as his scales looked like fire and gold. His face, Kaoru decided, while he had a mouthful of razor sharp teeth and large scales and horns, was expressive and more human than she would have thought. Not that she had ever thought much about dragons. But there she was, staring at what had once been Kenshin.

After he had finished transforming, he didn't do anything except keep his head and body down on the ground. He looked like a giant puppy, a giant scary puppy, Kaoru thought.

Concentrating on breathing slowly, Kaoru considered her options. She could run off and pretend she had been hallucinating the whole thing and never speak of it again, or she could swallow her growing fear and deal with the fact that she had bonded with a dragon and was standing not two feet from another. Finally, she took a step forward and giving into her earlier urge, touched Kenshin's unscarred cheek with one pointed finger, and then smoothed her palm over the warm scales that were surprisingly not as hard as she would have imagined. They were tough, but they gave a bit under the press of her hand. Kenshin just sat, angling his golden eyes to look up at her, and she giggled.

"You look like a sad puppy!" and she started giggling again at his wide eyes and snort. Kaoru jumped at the sound, jerking her hand back. He gave her what seemed to be an apologetic look.

"Okay. So. Dragon. I saw a dragon, Misao that day. She's not as bright as you. And you are much bigger. So. Dragon. Right." She poked Kenshin's cheek again, to assure herself that she wasn't hallucinating and then began to touch the scales again. "You are here. I can feel you. Scales and all. Very warm. And look, you have horns." She touched where the scales and horns seemed to meet, and Kenshin let out a dragon sigh. Kaoru looked down at him, he seemed to be enjoying his head rub so she began scratching all over. He settled his head down lower into the ground to allow her better access. And it seemed to make her more comfortable with him. Kaoru laughed at bit as he let out a noise somewhat like a purr when she found a spot near his neck and he rolled over, feet up in the air like a kitten, as she rubbed his neck. She looked curiously to see how he had gotten on his back with wings, but he seemed to have tucked them up further to roll, and was now using them to balance on his back.

Suddenly Kaoru stopped, and stepped back a bit.

"Okay, sorry." She said, blushing a bit as she realized she had started to think of Kenshin like a large kitten or puppy, and not as Kenshin or a dragon.

Kenshin seemed a bit disoriented, and then gracefully rolled over, and amazing feat with those large wings, Kaoru decided, and pulled himself up into a sitting position. Kaoru suddenly felt very, very small and realized just how small Kenshin had been trying to make himself. He gave her a dragon grin, full of teeth, and then he started shrinking. When he was fully human again, he seemed a bit out of breath, but was still smiling.

"Scales can be a bit itchy." He said and Kaoru's blush deepened a bit.

"I just had to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. So, a dragon. You are very bright." Kaoru realized she had been repeating 'dragon' for awhile, trying to make her mind realize that, yes, there were dragons.

Kenshin shrugged a bit. "Male dragons always seem to be a bit more flashy than females, Misao is even a water dragon and she tends towards a dark blue grey instead of an actual blue."

"So. Dragons." Kaoru winced as she did it again. "Sorry, I just keep thinking if I say it enough it will make more sense to me. What type of dragon is Megumi?" She unconsciously took the hand Kenshin offered and he led her back inside.

"Megumi isn't actually a dragon. She is a rare human who can sense and manipulate magical energy around her. People like her are known as 'mediums' or 'witches' and she is one of the most accomplished. It has come in very handy with your predicament."

Kaoru looked towards the door and frowned. She didn't say anything for a minute, thinking through everything. Finally she spoke quietly "So, I managed to form a bond with a dragon, and that bond was broken. I know Megumi has been treating me, but she kept talking about doing more research, so I am obviously not healed. What can be done?" She asked the last question, turning towards Kenshin who suddenly looked out the window. His eyes looked much more golden than she remembered.

"Your former bond mate has requested you return with him to try and reform the bond. His family magic should be strong enough to reforge the bond, and he seems to feel responsible." He frowned at the window, but looked up in surprise when he heard a snort of laughter from Kaoru.

"'Requested'?" Kaoru said incredulously and laughed again. "Are we talking about the same guy because the dude I know wouldn't request anything."

"He stated that you would go with him. He feels confident you will." Kenshin amended, and Kaoru laughed, then stood up, eyes flashing a bit dangerously.

"Excuse me, dragon or not, I have to go beat some sense into him." And as she took a step toward the door, Kenshin was in front of her.

"If you go in there, the bond will try and reform and drain you of energy-" He stopped as Kaoru cut him off.

"But I need to at least go knock him over the head and tell him no!" And she tried to brush past him, but Kenshin stood his ground.

"But it might kill you! You can't... wait, you're going to tell him no?" He asked, with such a shocked look on his face Kaoru stopped her attempts to get by.

"Well of course I'm going to tell him no, why would I tell him anything different?" She looked liked she might start trying to beat sense into Kenshin's head, and he gulped as he started talking, choosing his words carefully.

"Well, he was your bond mate, and you spent a fair amount of time pursuing him. I just assumed to be with him is what you would want." He flinched a bit as she stepped back, all she did give him a small, playful smack in his shoulder.

"Okay, that isn't terrible logic, but it's only part right. I did spend a lot of time trying to win his attentions." She sighed, looking a bit wistful as she went to go sit back on the couch. Kenshin followed, sitting beside her. "Had he chosen me to begin with, I probably would not be here. But he didn't." She looked up at Kenshin and smiled, a bit coldly. "He chose the way his family had set up for him, and I don't begrudge him that. But he did not choose me, and to come in and act like I'm just going to follow him off to a harem because he feels my life is his responsibility? Um, no. No, it's not going to happen. I do not share. Plus, it would have been difficult enough to be a part of a family of a different culture. To be a part of a family as a second wife in a clan of dragons? You couldn't pay me to go back with him!" She straightened her shoulders, chin up defiantly. When she turned her gaze to Kenshin, he had such a strange look in his eyes that should couldn't quite grasp what they were telling her. Finally she said, "He isn't going to like me telling him no, but I suppose he will get over it."

"I would not allow him to do anything except accept your answer." Kenshin said, his tone hard. He was looking at her with such resolution, her retort that she wouldn't allow it herself dying on her tongue. It occurred to her it was probably a good thing there was a whole clan of dragons that would protect her and not allow her to get carted off. Not that she thought her former bond mate would, but she had never seen him disappointed and realized she had no idea how he would react. Had Asad just been human, Kaoru knew that she would be able to take him herself, but as a dragon, she had no defense against him.

"I don't believe that would be necessary," She said, "But it will be appreciated if it comes to that. Now I will just have to find a way to tell him."

Kenshin quirked and eyebrow and pulled a phone out of his pocket. He fiddled with it a second, and then Kaoru heard the sound of ringing.

"Hey Misao..."

"Hey Kenshin, we've been talking about the logistics about getting Kaoru back and how we'd have to stagger her arrival with his and how the family bonding ritual works and Megumi has been taking some notes and..." Misao was talking into the phone, and he could see her and Aoshi from his screen. He could also hear the others talking in the background. She kept on for a bit, as Kenshin kept trying to interrupt, finally Misao realized that he was just repeating her name. "Uh... yes Kenshin?" She asked finally.

"Miss Misao, Miss Kaoru would like to speak to Mr. Chaudry, would you mind?"

"Oh! No, not at all, hey, Chaudry, Kaoru." And he frowned a bit as the screen showed Misao tossing her phone. He handed his to Kaoru.

"Are you ready to go?" The dragon asked Kaoru as she pursed her lips.

"No."

"You should be ready soon, it's..."

"I'm not going, yaar. I am staying here."

There was silence for a minute, and Kenshin leaned over a bit to try and catch the look on his face. He felt a bit unsure as he couldn't pick up on the dragon's energy from this far, and did not know how he was taking the news. The other dragons and Megumi had gone silent on the other end of the phone. Kaoru kept her face even, and let no emotion show through.

* * *

**A/N** - Sorry for the slight cliff hanger everyone. It's quite late and this seemed like a good place to end the chapter. I'm listening to Isaac outside my house right now, blowing trees around.

This chapter was also pretty difficult to write for some reason. I kept rewriting parts of it, and really trying to make the characters work. I love Kenshin and Kaoru but I have such a difficult time writing them. I'm actually not sure if everything is exactly where I want it, but I'm never really totally satisfied. I can't tell if it's my being picky or what. I've been a bit busy, and I've managed to get a few art commissions as well as my usual coding work, but I'm still making sure time to write! Still haven't had time to update corrections, but I know I will be able to after the 15th. Also, is it still frowned upon to respond to individual reviewers in authors notes? I haven't done that because my brother told me it wasn't allowed anymore, but I would really love to respond to everyone. Anyway, a big gigantic hug and thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story! Knowing people read my story makes me work at it even harder!

Also, I've been listening to Mumford and Sons on repeat while I'm working. Especially their Dharohar Project album. Check it out on YouTube! It's Folk Rock and Indian fusion. Love. It's also the best six bucks I've spent in iTunes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9  
And They're Off**

* * *

Kaoru did not allow any emotions to show as she waited for Asad to respond. She simply studied his image through the video phone, and noticed it seemed to take him awhile to even process what she had said, and then even longer to formulate a response. She supposed she could understand. As the youngest, she saw his family coddle him, and he usually got what he wanted. Finally, he swallowed and forced himself to speak.

"I don't understand. Megumi assured me your case was dire and you did not have much time left. If you were to come with me, we could reform the bond. Has everything been explained to you?"

"Yes, yaar, I have had everything explained to me."

"Then why will you not come?" He gave her a look that was almost pouting, and Kaoru frowned a bit at the expression which probably got him everything he had ever wanted. It was terribly cute, but not enough to sway her decision.

"Because now that I know what you are, and now that you are married, I really have no desire to try and assimilate myself into two cultures I do not understand as a second wife."

"But, you wanted to come before."

"Yes, yaar, I did. Before you married someone else, before you chose someone else over me."

"But the chances of you dying are great, and you are my responsibility. Bonding with more than one dragon isn't unheard of and my parents would have to allow it and help save you. You have to come with me." She could see his eyes getting wider. He was always so controlled, but he looked somewhat strained, as if he was trying hard to make her see his way. Kaoru wondered if he would try and force her to come with him. She knew he could not. If he was around her too long then she would die, and she very much doubted whether Kenshin or the others would allow her to come within range of her to even see her, let alone take her.

"No. And no. Once I might have been your responsibility, but that's over now. I don't want to be a third wheel. I don't want to be stuck having to share you with someone. I don't want there to be that uncomfortable unspoken awkwardness around your family. No-" she interrupted his trying to refute that, "No, you can say it wouldn't be like that, but I know it would, and I don't want to live like that. If I did rebond with you, all it would do would lengthen my life. It would not give me the life I wanted. Please, yaar. Had this gone any other way I would have stayed with you. But I can't go back to you."

"I just..." He ran a hand through his hair, and looked away, thinking. "I know it's my fault, and I feel like I should help. You used to be so logical, and now you aren't making any sense."

Kaoru couldn't help but smile at his determined look, and how cute he looked when flustered and frustrated. He had never had much occasion to look like that, but it was endearing. "Well, you did teach me to be a little crazy, I'll definitely blame you for that one, but everything that happened was because of me. Had I not perused you like I did, well, then we wouldn't be here at all. But if you really would like to do something, what you can do is just talk with Megumi, help her with what she needs to know, and then go back to your wife. She looks adorable, by the way." She grinned at him.

"When did you see her?" He asked, confused.

"I snuck in to your wedding..." she said slyly. "I was just so curious, since you had closed out all your accounts and had gotten rid of your phone."

"Who helped you with that?"

"If I said, 'Asad' would that mean anything to you?" She laughed at his confused look. And then once again at his comprehension.

"I have way too many friends named that." He finally said.

"Truthfully though, I could have gotten any one of your friends to help, and you would still be having the same problem. But seriously, yaar, if you feel you have to do something, just help Megumi and I'll let you know if everything works out. I trust everyone here. You would be leaving me in good hands."

* * *

Kenshin slowly relaxed as she talked, realizing that he was not going to have to run off with her to save her from a jealous ex. He pouted, a bit disappointed that he was not going to take her to a much more secure place. He liked the thought of her safe with him. But he supposed that if Kaoru had become more wild because of the young dragon, then she had been a calming influence on him. Despite wildly running around with Misao and himself, Kaoru had always seemed thoughtful and understanding, always caring about those around her. She had rushed to his side the moment he had fallen, and had helped with the car. And though they had to ban her from helping in the kitchen, she had at least tried to make them tea and food.

He wondered how much of a calming effect she had on the young dragon, and decided that had anyone else brought the news to him, Chaudry would have reacted violently, no matter who had been in the room with him. Dragons, no matter where they were from, treated things or others in their care with an almost irrational devotion. Kenshin tried to imagine his own feelings if Kaoru were to leave. He wondered if even Kaoru would be able to calm him, and realized that she probably would be able to. She had a confidence, and an almost hypnotic logic. She kept things light, and almost did not seem to understand her own power. He observed her, as she talked, not really paying attention, until one phrase caught him.

"I'm not just going to let a man fix me because he can. It isn't like that."

Kenshin's sudden realization overcame him, but he was careful not to react. How could he have been so stupid? He had been looking for someone with a broken bond, because his time was almost up. And he was just going to assume that they wanted to be saved as well. Megumi and Misao were right. His grand plan was terribly lacking. Find anyone and fix them both up and then... and then what? Kaoru had just said it. She wasn't going to let a man fix her just because he was able. Kenshin was so busy feeling terrible about his complete lack of thought about the situation that he didn't notice Kaoru had stopped talking and was looking at him, expecting an answer. He stared blankly at her for a second before she huffed a bit.

"He's talking with Megumi now, and he'll probably have to stay because of the long trip." Kaoru ignored Kenshin looked that clearly stated he was not happy with this turn of events at all and just kept talking, "Misao was wondering if there was somewhere you would like to go, and you and I could hang out there for awhile. Or I could ask Misao..."

It took Kenshin a while to realize that she had finished talking and had already hung up. He was watching her just looking at him and he swallowed, wondering what would be the right answer. He didn't want to just take her off, even though his dragon instincts were screaming at him to horde her away and to do that immediately.

"Kenshin?"

"It is up to you." He finally said, not daring himself to look into her eyes as he talked, "There are several places we could go if you would like. If you would rather Misao, I could have her go with you." He did not look up at her, but kept his gaze somewhat down. He did not notice Kaoru's confused look at his somewhat strange behavior.

"I am sure Misao would prefer to spend more time with Aoshi," Kaoru finally said thoughtfully, trying to will Kenshin to look at her.

He kept his eyes hidden in his bangs, as he got up quickly.

"If you would stay here then, I will go get your things, and we can leave. Miss Kaoru." He gave a small bow, leaving Kaoru feeling somewhat hurt, though she could not have told anyone why, or what had just happened between them, and wondering if she had made the right decision.

* * *

"You are in a rotten mood. You probably should not have changed either. Wrecks havoc on your system."

"We're you not supposed to be questioning our guest?" Kenshin asked irritably, spitting out the word 'guest' in the tone of voice he'd normally reserve for the word 'vermin'. He was busy folding Kaoru's clothes and quickly stuffing them into her bag. He always kept a bag ready for himself.

"Misao is showing him to his room. Where are you going to take Kaoru?"

"Probably into town, there is an inn...Ow!" Megumi had hit him, and he looked at her with wide eyes, holding the back of his head, not having expected that.

"You'll probably have a week and you're going to take her to an inn? Take her to one of your houses, Kenshin. You're trying to woo the girl and you don't have much time."

"I don't think that's such a good idea now." He looked away from Megumi, turning back to Kaoru's bag.

"What are you talking about Kenshin? Is this about her bond mate?"

"No, this is about Kaoru and what she wants. We just took her. We actually just sort of kidnapped her."

"Had you not, she would have died. Kaoru had no idea about the bond, and you saved her. Yes, you were looking for another to bond with to save yourself, but you are saving her as well."

Kenshin turned his fire bright eyes to Megumi, "And what if she does not want to be saved? What if she doesn't want to just bind herself to some random person to save herself. I was so stupid."

"No." Megumi interrupted him, her cinnamon eyes narrowing dangerously. "You are so stupid." she bit out. "So, completely moronic. You listen to me, as your doctor, I'm telling you to go somewhere else, further away, nicer. Take Kaoru someplace she will like if you are going to be so completely thick. Ask her where she wants to go. Don't make my other patient miserable because you are. I will call you when I'm done here." And with that, Megumi stomped out of the room, in the graceful way only she could manage to stomp, and left Kenshin staring after her.

* * *

"I can't believe you two flew all the way here, and with him. How did he take the trip?"

Sano was in the kitchen, raiding cabinets and pretty much making a giant mess. Misao was doing her own share of raiding, looking for food for dinner, and between the two of them it looked like a small tornado was going through with food being the main target.

"He didn't complain, didn't say much of anything, truthfully. I think he was just glad I didn't let anything slip in front of his folks and woman, but I'm not that stupid."

"Well, I don't know about that, he's sleeping now and Megumi will...Oh, gross, Sano, don't open those fish here, go take them to your room or something. I thought I got rid of those!"

"You're the one who's been throwing my food away?" He looked at her with wide eyes.

"Just those nasty... Ew! Don't open them here!" But it was too late and Misao made a gagging noise as he opened the can of kippers.

Megumi chose that moment to walk in and wrinkled her nose. "That is disgusting." She said to Sano and then turned to Misao. "I am going to kill Kenshin."

"Why? Has he done something mean to Kaoru? Did he kill our guest?"

Megumi sighed as she pulled one of the bar stools out and hopped on, letting her head fall into her hands as she sighed. Misao was shocked as her friend never showed this much emotion about anything.

"Oh my God! He has done something horrible!" Misao said, frozen in the middle of what she was doing.

"Yes, the idiot fell in love with Kaoru and now he's having some sort of guilt trip! I don't understand what happened, and I had to force him to take Kaoru somewhere nice, instead of just an inn in town." She looked up and sighed, trying to regain some composure after her outburst. Misao looked horrified that Kenshin wasn't taking the opportunity she has managed to suggest without anyone becoming suspicious as to her true motive of trying to get the two alone for longer periods of time.

"Wait, Kenshin likes the new miss?" Sano said around the fish he was eating. "Was that part of the original plan?"

"No, Rooster head, you were there for the original plan! Since you've been gone, the plan kind of changed. The original plan also didn't involve humans and foreign magic and family bonds and a whole bunch of work on my part. It also didn't involve Kenshin falling in love with the human. The whole thing was just supposed to be a quick Band-Aid for two people's problems until I could get it fixed for both of them."

"Him falling in love was just a bonus so it could be permanent!" Misao chirped. "He's been head over heels for weeks and we were so hoping it would work out!"

"Well, what are we going to do? I can all Aoshi while he's out and get him to..."

"No, We can't do anything."

"Sano!" Both Misao and Megumi stared at the dragon who was busy trying to dig the last bit of fish out of his tin and not paying them any mind. Finally, when it looked like they wouldn't ever stop glaring at them, he gave up and answered.

"Well, we really can't do anything. If we let on that there was a plan to begin with, do you think Kaoru is going to stick around? She isn't going to feel that Kenshin's feelings are sincere, even if they are. And if we say anything to Kenshin, the dude is going to clam up even worse. Or pull rank."

"That's..." Megumi didn't know what to say.

"Surprising lucid thought for you." Misao looked at him strangely.

"I... I just know how guys think. I'm going to my room. It's been a long trip. Just, get the information you need from Chaudry, we leave the couple on their honeymoon for a bit longer than necessary, and hope they aren't too thick."

"Please just don't say..."

"What could go wrong?" Sano grinned and Megumi groaned.

"That always used to get us in trouble."

* * *

**A/N** - You know the last two chapters before this had the exact same word count? I thought that was pretty amazing. I didn't even try. I am very thrilled at how many visits and views I had in August. Over 1000 people and over 3000 views for the last half of the month. Awesomness! I'm completely floored and really grateful that so many seem to be reading my little story all the way through. I certainly did not expect that when I started. I didn't even expect reviews, but, here we are! Thank you to my fabulous reviewers *hugs and cookies for all* If I owned Kenshin I'd let you all borrow him :D He makes an excellent quiche.

Also, I'm trying to go through and read stories by everyone who has commented or favorited, to try and return the favors. I've been a bit busy with friends coming up from Isaac and cousins having babies along with lots of random work I'm trying to get done with PayPal being evil. But I'm working on it! I swear!

Note on 'jaan' and 'yaar' which I haven't really addressed in text: When Kaoru first talks about her former bondmate, she refers to him as 'jaan' because she wanted to remember happier times and she still does care for him. However, with him coming back and being married, she switches to 'yaar' as it is just something you would call a friend. 'Jaan' feels a bit too intimate for her to call someone else's husband to their face. And just a bit of random information, the word for "lion" which I found in Japanese was "Shishi" and that almost made me choose Shishio as her ex bond mate, but I just couldn't write that! The character would not work.

Anyway, this story is nearing completion I think, and for my first one, I'm pretty happy with it. I've already got another one I'm outlining and I can't wait to write it! Unfortunately no fantasy elements in the next one, but I'm also working on a prequel for this one that will not only continue to have dragons, but also a lot more action/adventure/death and stuff. And more familiar characters. XD I can't wait! Oh! I also corrected some stuff in my other story, and hope to have time to update corrected chapters soon. But it's already 1 and I'm beat. I hope you enjoy what I have now!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 **  
**Travel **

* * *

When Kenshin asked Kaoru where she wanted to go, She had tilted her head, and asked where most dragons lived. Kenshin had shrugged, and explained how through the years they had spread out, because too many dragons in one area tended to cause problems. Clans of less than twenty dragons were the most common, and every five years they would have a festival where the dragons would meet and show off and bring any problems before the council. Kaoru seemed curious by all of that, but Kenshin reminded her they needed to go someplace else. Right then they were just driving in the direction of town. It was quite late in the evening and it would be getting dark soon.

"Why don't we fly to where ever?" Kaoru asked him.

"Well, it wouldn't be very comfortable for you, I don't think. Not really anyplace for you to sit, and..."

"I meant a plane." Kaoru said, looking uncomfortable at the thought of riding on Kenshin's back as if he was some sort of horse.

"Oh, Of course." He looked a bit sheepish, but before he could say anything else, Kaoru sat up with an idea.

"So that was your uncle's house, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a house that's just yours?"

"I have a few in different areas. I stay at different ones depending on where I need to go and what I need to do."

"You have several houses?" Kaoru asked, mouth hanging open. She realized she was looking at him in shock and closed her mouth. "Well, I was just going to say I'd like to see what your house looks like, I guess I'll just say I'd like to see what one of your houses looks like..."

"Big city? Town? Middle of no where?" Kenshin asked, thinking about which one he'd like to show her.

"Um, I'm not really in the mood for a ton of people." She looked thoughtful then just sighed. "I don't know. Just which ever is your favorite, and which ever is the easiest to get to. I promise I'm really not too picky." She leaned back in her chair and stared out the window. The deepening colors of the clear sky were beautiful to watch.

"Do you want to stay in America?"

Managing not to look completely shocked, Kaoru nodded. Then she realized he was driving and might not be looking at her. "Yes, that would be preferable. I'm not sure how much longer my visa has on it. Probably not much longer if I don't hurry up and get an actual job."

"Yeah, Misao might have mentioned something like that when she was doing research on you and trying to figure out who you were." He caught a look at her face and he added, "so we could help you and find out what dragons you had been in contact with."

"So you already know?" Kaoru huffed, looking dangerous.

Kenshin was nonplussed and a bit scared by her look.

"Know? What do I know?"

"From the sound of it you know all about me! Research?!"

"No, no, Miss Kaoru! We weren't researching you like that, we just needed to know who you were and what your connection to dragons was. You know how Misao gets with things. She can't help but soak everything she finds up and she has no filter. It was mostly stuff that was public on facebook anyway. Except for the visa thing and then she was just trying to figure out where you'd been to see which clans you had been near since facebook hadn't been updated. I am quite sorry about it all Kaoru, but we were only trying to help you."

Kaoru had gone still as was just staring out the window, though she wasn't looking at anything in particular. Finally, after Kenshin was sure she wasn't going to say anything she spoke.

"I do understand. It's just so frustrating because I wanted to keep it all secret and you lot already know!"

"I really don't know what you are talking about Miss Kaoru. There's nothing bad in your records at all. Nothing that would show up on any background check or..."

"But you know that I don't have a job or a home, and I don't belong here at all. And after buying that coat for me, you have to know I literally have no money left in my account. I don't know, I was just trying to keep from everyone that for all intents and purposes I'm penny less and homeless."

Kenshin took his eyes off the road for a second to look at her. She still looked slightly angry, but there was something else in her eyes too. She was worried.

"Why are you worried about that? You're young and right out of school." He turned back towards the road as she answered.

"Because you're treated differently if you don't have money or a way to get it. Or a career or a plan." Kaoru took out her phone and began to take pictures with it. It was then Kenshin noticed just how the clouds almost seemed to be glowing with the last bit of sunlight against the dark purple sky. "I can't even afford a phone plan. I just use this thing as a camera."

"But no one thinks of you badly because of a lack of money. We like you because you are Kaoru. It may worry you that you don't have money or a way to get it right now, but you don't focus on money, but on value and beauty. We like you for that reason. And, honestly, dragons don't think about money the same way you humans do."

"How do we think about money?" Kaoru went back to taking photos. She had already taken at least twenty of the same view, and was continuing, making slight changes. Kenshin silently remembered scrolling through pages of photos in her camera that looked almost identical.

"Well, for the most part, a lot of humans think of money as the end. If you have a lot of money, then everything is good. But for dragons, money is only as useful as what we can get with it. I do not think I've ever known a dragon who has hoarded money. And never raw gold or precious stones."

"Are you kidding? That seems so different than what one would normally think..."

"Yes. Dragons love things that are well made, or that have a history, or have a use. A fair few dragons do horde jewelry made from gold, but those collections are more about the artistry in the creation of the piece or the history of the owners. There might be dragons that collect bullion that has a history of a certain mine or refinery, but it's fairly rare. You'll find a lot of the great museums and collections of the world were actually started by dragons. Their favorite pieces they'll hide away, but a good bit of their horde is usually out on display. They would have no use for gold in its raw form, except for trading it for something they really want."

"What do you collect?"

"Collections change over time." he paused a bit, wondering just how far back he should go. Kaoru looked over at him, frowning at the slight darkening of his eyes. "Right now, I'm continuing several collections started by members of my clan. For awhile I was dealing in information."

"You mean, spy things?" Kaoru asked, a bit intrigued.

"They were useful in that capacity, yes."

"That's not what I thought you would say." Kaoru turned her phone off and put it away, ignoring Kenshin's quick glance. "I was sure you were going to say swords or weapons or something."

"Why would you think that?" Kenshin kept his tone perfectly level, but he couldn't stop his hands from gripping the steering wheel a little tighter.

"Well, you are helping me with swordsmanship, and you're a dragon, and I've seen you get angry. It's just where my mind went. Are you going to get all angry again?"

"What?"

"Before we left you seemed angry. You had seemed happier up till now. I'm sorry if you having to leave was... not in your plans. Or if my ex was rude or something. I just wanted to apologize if it was something I did."

"No!" Kenshin said, a bit loudly, and then brought his voice down to a whisper again. "I promise Kaoru, I'm not mad at anything you did. I am just mad at myself. For something I did."

"So you are still mad then?" Kaoru asked, tilting her eyes to glance up at him. His eyes were focused on the road ahead and he was frowning.

"Yes, well, no, Well... " He paused and sighed, his body relaxing slightly. "Have you ever been angry with someone, and the later realized that you are doing the exact same thing that made you angry with the other person? I found all the anger I was feeling towards the other person was suddenly directed towards myself. I didn't mean to seem angry towards you. I just had to takes steps to correct my thoughts and actions so I wouldn't be doing the exact same thing the other person had done to make me angry."

"Your... your thoughts and actions?" Kaoru asked, once again glancing up at him. This time he was looking at her with a strange expression, that made Kaoru drop her gaze and stare down at Kenshin's knees.

"I'll be able to explain that later too. I hope." He added softly under his breath.

* * *

Kaoru did not say much more the rest of the drive. Kenshin thought she might have been sleeping, but every time he would check, she would just be staring ahead, propping her chin in her hand. She had tucked her legs under her and was leaning ever so slightly toward him. It was getting quite late, and finally Kenshin suggested she might want to sleep in the back seat for the rest of the drive.

"I can't sleep while in a car."

"You don't want to try?"

"I've been trying to sleep for the last hour. I can't sleep in cars or planes. It's fine. I'll make it to where ever we're going."

"Oh, we can stop. I thought you would just sleep through. But you need sleep. Megumi would kill me if I drove us both straight through without stopping. Especially if you couldn't sleep during the drive. I'll stop over the next town."

* * *

The next town was farther than Kenshin remembered and they arrived late enough that it seemed every place was full. They finally found a rather run down motel with double beds and all but collapsed the moment they entered. Kaoru folded the musty smelling comforter of the bed down and crawled in to bed without even changing. She felt horrible.

"It's going to be cold tonight. I'm turning up the heater." Kenshin said, before messing with the window unit and grabbing his bag and heading for the bathroom. Kaoru was completely asleep.

It was still dark when she woke up, freezing. It took her a minute to realize where she was, and another to realize that she was shivering uncontrollably with a raging headache. She was pretty sure in the light from the cracks in the window she could see her breath. She lay in bed for a few minutes, wondering if she should touch the nasty blanket that had probably never been washed at the end of the bed. She made a face as she continued shivering. And went through her options. She could touch the cover at the foot of the bed, but it was gross, and she doubted even that bit of fabric would help much anyway. The heater had probably gone out, she decided, because she remembered Kenshin turning it to high before they went to sleep and he...

Kenshin. She frowned a bit. He was a dragon. A fire breathing dragon. He was warm. She made a face as she thought about how that questions would go, "Hey, wake up, I'm freezing, breath fire or something..." Still, it was so cold. She tucked her knees against her body and put her head under the covers she did have. She would suck it up. She wasn't going to go ask for a hug from a dragon because it would be all wrong with him as a human man. Especially in a seedy motel room. From where she was she could hear Kenshin breathing peacefully. Stupid warm dragon, she thought to herself.

She stayed like that for as long as she could, willing herself to fall back to sleep so she could forget about the cold.

It didn't work, finally she sat up with a sigh.

"Ken-sh-shin," She said almost quietly.

"Hmm?" He muttered sleepily.

"It's cold" she bit out between her shivering, managing not to shake her second words.

Kenshin sat up groggily and looked around. Kaoru knew her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. Their breath, especially Kenshin's was visible in the air.

"It's freezing," Kenshin corrected, rolling over to mess with the buttons on the heater. "Dead, I think I saw a breaker box, let me see..." He got up and Kaoru watched as he checked electrical, and even called down to the main office, but didn't get anyone who could help. She didn't see how he could walk barefoot on the thin, cold carpet in just a t-shirt and long pajama pants and just sort of watched him in a cold daze as she tried not to shiver.

"I don't think much can be done about it now. We need sleep and... are you all right?" Kenshin noticed Kaoru hadn't moved, but he did see the slight shaking of her shoulders.

"J-just so c-old. Head h-hurts."

Kenshin came over to her and felt her head with the back of his hand. "Kaoru, you're freezing. You weren't even sleeping under that... Oh, come here," And he sat down and with ease, maneuvered her against him. He was hot, and Kaoru couldn't stop herself from trying to tuck her feet between his thighs as he grabbed her hands and rubbed them gently. "You are a ball of ice. I think I hear the steam from your toes..." Kaoru laughed a bit, happy to be less cold, and trying to keep herself from tucking further against him to be even warmer.

"I was g-going to ask-k you to st-art a fire... Acciden-ntally burn the place down..." Kaoru was still shaking after a minute, but at this point she thought it might be in pure relief.

"I might still do that for you.." He said while moving them effortlessly, so he was sitting in a more comfortable position against the head board and she could curl closer, her earlier thoughts of hugging men in hotel rooms forgotten. Kaoru thought he might have said something else to her, but for the moment, she was perfectly content and warm even and did not feel like extending the effort to listen. She thought it might make her head start hurting again. She wondered when it had stopped, and decided not to think about anything any more. Later she would never be able to pinpoint when she had fallen asleep.

Kenshin had only continued talking for a minute before realizing she had passed out. He could feel that she had slipped into a deep sleep, and he could feel his inner dragon was very pleased that she was so close to him. Her head was tucked up on his shoulder, right under his jaw and he could feel her breath on his collar. When he had first touched her he had been shocked just how cold she was. He almost never thought about the cold, and had she not woken him up, he might have slept through the night just fine without ever thinking of it. He wondered how long she had slept, and figured she probably had woken up and tried to ignore it. He rolled his eyes as he shifted again and Kaoru, in her sleep, settled herself closer. Kenshin just closed his eyes and held her close, deciding to move as little as possible. This was the deepest sleep he had ever felt from her, and he didn't want to disturb her at all, especially as he could sleep comfortably in just about any position.

* * *

**A/N** - I have the hardest time writing Kenshin Kaoru scenes! And that is sad because I love those scenes /so much/! Guess that just means I have to write them more. For practice. Yes, nothing to do with liking the fluffy, waffy stuff. Not at all.

But that isn't the main reason this is late. I've been all over the country since the last update and I haven't had much time to write at all. I also moved in with a relative to take care of them because they have cancer and while there I had no way to get online to update (plus a lot of other things on my mind). Plus, I had this chapter mostly written and then I realized I had made a giant mistake and had to redo the whole chapter. And then my boyfriend went off and got married to someone else. So, life and writing since my last update has been so not fun and I really didn't like this chapter much. Updates may continue to be sporadic. I am very sorry about that and will try to write more, as I know this story is almost complete! I'd like to thank all the new and old readers, and all the people who had added this to their story alert and favorites!


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